Crossfire
by ShinningLikeAChandelier
Summary: The cases had been so slow lately that the team had been working in groups of two to get them solved when finally a larger case comes around. With all hands on deck and a perp that seems to be impossible to find or catch, will the team be able to keep even themselves safe? More importantly, will they be able to catch the perp before he commits more crimes? EC with possible RN. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**It has been almost two years since I got to start a fresh story. One of my last stories took 7 years to finish and the most recent took 1. THIS TIME I plan on being dedicated to this story and I am so excited for it! I really want to involve you guys in the writing! I have my own plan of where this will go but I would love feedback and ideas! This one is really for you guys!**

The past few weeks at Miami Dade had been slow. Slow by the definition of the CSI team that is. Though there had been many murders to investigate, robberies and attacks, there was nothing that really stood out. Surprisingly, and impressively for the team, nobody had been injured. It was nice, the team was able to spend more time catching up and relaxing for the most part.

"This is the first time in 4 years that I can say that I literally have nothing to do" Natalia said as she slumped down on the couch in the break room. Calleigh looked up from her magazine and smiled with a raised eyebrow. "Don't you dare jinx it, I like my free time" Calleigh said as she held up the cover of her "Gun Digest" magazine. Natalia laughed at the blondes obsession with guns even in her free time. Ryan and Eric both entered the room laughing about something previously.

"Hey Cal, you hear about the new RS21 model?" Ryan asked as he pointed at her magazine. Calleigh stared him down in mock irritation. Eric immediately burst into laugher at Calleigh's face. She went from a bright smile to and irritated frown. Eric hid behind Ryan as if to avoid the daggers she was shooting with her eyes.

"You know damn well that isn't a real gun" She said with her Southern drawl thicker than ever. It was always entertaining to see how her accent would come out when she was upset or angry. Ryan chuckled as he tried to hug the angry gun specialist as she cracked a smile at his innocent attempt to join her conversation.

"How was your case?" Calleigh asked as Ryan pulled a seat up next to her. Eric strode across the room to pour himself a cup of coffee when he realized the the pot was empty. He turned and looked at Calleigh who had a steaming cup directly in front of her. "Seriously?" Eric asked while holding up the empty pot. Calleigh replied with a toothy grin as she pushed her cup towards the empty space of the table. "It's all yours" Calleigh said as she leaned back. "Believe me, she does NOT need more caffeine" Natalia added while pulling a seat up at the break table so she could be closer to the conversation.

Eric rolled his eyes and sat with the other three while pulling the cup to him. "So your case?" Calleigh continued back to her initial conversation. Ryan rubbed his face as he began to think about it. "Exhausting." Ryan said flattly. Eric raised a mug of coffee to agree. "Everytime we interviewed someone they directed us to someone else with more information and on and on" Ryan explained. "Ended up being the first person we talked to" Ryan said annoyed.

"By the time we got back to her house she was in the backyard throwing everything that we could've used as evidence into a bonfire" Eric finished. Natalia giggled a little at the thought of the two irritated men trying to stop a psychotic housewife from lighting things on fire.

"Not funny, it was a long day" Ryan said while pointing a finger at Natalia who replied by putting her hands up in mock surrender. "What have you too been so hard at work over?" Eric asked while taking a long swig of his coffee. Calleigh looked at Natalia and smirked.

"Our guy confessed before we even started questioning" Natalia said proudly as she offered Calleigh a high five from across the table. The two men rolled their eyes. "The fact that we are running investigations separately is seriously sad" Ryan huffed as her crossed his arms and leant back in his chair.

"Oh did you miss working with us girls?" Calleigh mocked in a baby's voice while nudging him with her elbow. Ryan smiled and rolled his eyes. "I mean it's not _terrible_ " he said plainly. Just as the words left his mouth Horatio entered the room with a stack of folders in his hands.

"We got something, and I need all of you on it" Horatio said simply. The four sat up in their chairs eager to hear what he had for them. "There's been a family that's gone missing, the house needs swept for evidence and we need to figure out where they've gone" Horatio said simply as he dropped the folders on the table. Calleigh raised her eyebrow in confusion.

"What exactly makes this a case for CSI, and why is it that we need the entire team?" Calleigh asked while flipping through the folder that contained photo's of the family members and their information. Natalia shot a look at Calleigh and cut in, "Not that we aren't glad to be working together". Horatio offered a small smile, he knew they were getting fed up with the small cases.

"There was blood found in the household about a week ago by the police department. We would've been involved earlier but after having searched the house they found that there was no trace of the family at which point it was released to us". Horatio explained. They sat for a little while longer flipping through the pages of the folder until they all were well covered in the scene. The four headed out after Horatio and headed toward the scene. Eric and Natalia rode together as Calleigh jumped in the Hummer with Ryan.

"So what do you think the deal is with this case, I win and you buy me drinks" Calleigh said playfully as she gnawed down on a twizzler that she pulled from Ryan's glove compartment. One of her main reasons for always choosing to ride with him was that she knew of his secret candy stash. She handed him one as he thought for a moment. "I win and you buy me drinks AND appetizers" Ryan said as he turned a corner while also biting off a piece of twizzler. "Deal! Okay, I think, one of the parents was cheating, one murdered the other and took off with the kids" Calleigh stated matter of factly. Ryan nodded in appreciation of her creativity. "Okay okay, I think that someone tried to rob the house, the family was home and fought back and the robber killed them in a panic and then had to take the bodies with him" Ryan explained, proud of his submission. Calleigh smiled and nodded while taking another bite off her rope of candy. "It's terrible to do this you know?" Calleigh said as she looked out the window.

"It's only terrible if it's true, realistically we're gonna save the whole day, and if they are already dead, then we will bring them justice" Ryan explained. Calleigh smiled as the two of them pulled up the the assumed scene behind Natalia, Eric, and Horatio. The property was huge. The five CSI's gathered on the front lawn and looked around.

"Ryan and Calleigh, I want you guys to start inside, Eric and Natalia I want you to sweep the exterior for anything. I'm going to run around back and see if I can find another entrance. The team all nodded and headed off on their ways. Calleigh and Ryan headed into the house. Calleigh turned around for a moment just long enough to catch Eric's gaze and his warming smile. She smiled back and quickly turned around before her blush could develop. Calleigh and Eric were close friends, bestfriends even. But there had always been an odd kind of spark between them. Eric would always get protective and jealous whenever there was another man in her life. Calleigh would always get nit picky over whatever female happened to be in his. They both knew it and they both refused to bring it up. So friends they remained.

Natalia stood back with her hands on her hips and smirked at Eric. Eric turned around with the same smile he had given Calleigh still lingering on his face until he saw Natalia's knowing eyes looking at him. "What?" Eric said with a laugh. Natalia rolled her eyes and began walking the yard. The yard itself was pretty ordinary, nothing out of the blue for them to card. Natalia took care to put evidence markers on even the slightest abnormality such as the missing patch of grass and even the plastic wrapper towards the front of the house. "This walk is going to take forever and a half" Natalia huffed. "Well, this house is pretty big, we could always finish up here and help them clear the inside?" Eric added to make the situation seem a little better. Natalia shrugged her shoulders. The two went on for another few minutes until Natalia noted that her side was clear and Eric agreed. Eric and Natalia walked around the back end of the house to meet with Horatio.

Ryan stood in the hallway of the first floor staring at Calleigh in irritation and anxiety. "Can't we start at the top of the house?" Ryan pleaded. Calleigh sighed and turned around to face him. "Ryan, it'll be easier to get out of the way first. Plus, it's just a basement!" Calleigh explained gesturing towards the door. "A basement that has a deadbolt on it!" Ryan exclaimed as he pointed the large lock at the top of the door. Caleigh smiled as she reached to the top of the lock with her arms raised and snapped the lock off with a pair of plyers. Ryan scooped the lock up off the ground with an evidence bag and immediately placed it back down as he labeled it and followed Calleigh as she had already opened the door. Calleigh smiled widely as she flicked on the lights and stepped down the carpeted stairs to what appeared to be a small, caged, gun collection.

"Why is that the cops didn't open this door in their search?" Ryan asked in a confused tone as he flipped through the initial report. Calleigh ignored him and approached the gated collection. There was only 6 guns in it but they were expensive models and all very well kept. Calleigh heard Ryan repeat himself as he hectically flipped through pages. "Ryan, maybe they didn't have the right to open anything that was locked. It wasn't considered to be a crime when they initially entered!" Calleigh explained. The two began to look around the plush basement for any type of clue that would explain what had happened. 30 minutes into it they had decided that they weren't having any luck and began to head upstairs when Ryan noted that the carpet near the bookcase had what seemed to be a footprint indentation. Calleigh approached the area with Ryan as they took photo's and measurements of the indent that didn't match Calleigh, nor Ryan's foot.

"That's odd, any footprint would have likely lifted after maybe an hour. This has to of been recent…" Ryan said with a shot of concern in his voice. Calleigh looked up from the footprint to the bookcase. She turned to Ryan who then pulled his gun from its holster and aimed it at the case. Calleigh grabbed hold of the bookcase and waited for Ryan's nod to pull it out as hard as she could. The two remained silent as the back side of the bookcase housed a small hallway with another door at the end. The hall was dark and almost impossible to see anything. Ryan took a step forward into the hallway leading the way. Calleigh stepped back and pulled out her walkie talkie "H, we got something in the basement" She spoke confidently and strongly. "On our way" She got back quickly. In the moment she spent trying to reclip her walkie talkie to her belt a dark figure darted out of the hall and knocked Ryan to the ground. When Calleigh looked up the man was right in front of her. As she went to reach for her weapon the man had already shoulder checked her to the ground. Calleigh got up quickly and removed her firearm and was up and after the man.

"Miami Dade PD" She yelled as she rushed after the man up the stairs.

Eric stopped for a second and looked to Horatio and Natalia to ensure that they had heard the same. Natalia looked wide eyed when she met his gaze. Horatio pulled out his gun.

"Natalia, head to the basement, Eric rush the front, I'm going back around to the entrance" Horatio planned quickly. The three nodded to each other and quickly re-entered the house. Natalia quickly turned the corner from the back entrance to get to the basement as Eric went forward down the marble floored hallway towards the front door with his gun drawn.

Calleigh was so close she could almost make the jump to tackle him but she couldn't risk missing. The man turned swiftly down another hallway before turning around completely which through Calleigh off. He raised an arm out horizontally which she ran directly into, hitting her collarbone. She reached out to grasp as the man but was only able to scratch his forearm. As she came into contact with his arm she felt the breath get knocked right out of her chest. He turned swiftly and darted out the front door. Calleigh raised her gun to try and take a shot before realizing he was out of view. "Damnit!" she cursed as she rubbed her collar and leaned against the wall.

"Calleigh?!" Eric called out in a strong voice. She turned to see him whipping around the corner with his gun drawn. He looked around the area just to be safe before holstering his weapon and approaching her with a concerned look in his eye. His gaze was drawn to her hand that was rubbing around her neck. "Are you okay?" He asked in his normal tone as he got closer. Calleigh nodded. "I was so close to catching him!" She cursed as she squinted her eyes shut. She paused for a moment as her eyes flew back open "Ryan.." She said quietly. Calleigh quickly turned back the way she came to come face to face with Ryan and Natalia. Calleigh sighed when she saw him and hugged him quickly. Ryan winced at her tight embrace which spread a quick smile across Eric's face. Horatio was quick to join the group as the sound of sirens could be heard in the background.

"This, is now a crime scene" He said simply. The rest of the team looked at each other silently wondering what on earth they had ahead of them.

 **GUYS! It being a new story almost makes me feel as though I haven't talked to you guys in a little while. I'm so very excited to write this new story and I'm even more excited to involve you guys in it! I'm really working on fleshing out the characters and developing a stronger story line! This will be EC with potential for NR? Not sure about the second part but Hiphugger fans all around, I promise, there will be some EC lovin somewhere down the line! Let me know what you guys think! R &R and as always, I can't wait to hear back!**


	2. Chapter 2

**First of all, let me say thank you to everyone who read and reviewed my first chapter! It was amazing to see so many people were enjoying it! I hope to get the same rise out of you after this chapter!**

"We need to go back down there and figure out where it was that he came from" Calleigh stated with a stern look on her face. "Calleigh.." Eric started to try and diswayed her from the decision so they could all take a break for a moment and regroup. "No, we're all here, backup is already walking up and that ass is long gone at this point. We need to go find out what it was that he was doing down there" Calleigh stated defensively. Erin turned his head up to the ceiling, there was no arguing with the blonde no matter what the situation was. "I agree, but we go together" Horatio stated. Eric quickly snapped back and looked at Horatio who was busy opening the door to the basement. The team wait for backup to come into the house before they descended back down into the basement. The room was laid out exactly how it was before with the bookcase pulled from the wall.

"Ryan and Natalia, I want you watching this entrance, Calleigh you're with me, Eric I want you following close behind, hold your position at the middle of the hall. Nobody else is slipping through" Horatio explained. The team all looked at eachother and nodded to ensure that they all knew their part. Everyone entered. Calleigh walked carefully next to Horatio with gun drawn as they approached the door. It had a lock on it from the outside, another odd fact. Eric paused halfway through the hallway that was pitch black except for the light pouring in from the opening of the bookcase and drew his gun and aimed it at the closed door. He turned back to see Ryan with his back to the opening and Natalia with her back to his, covering all of their bases. Horatio pulled the locks down and opened the door quickly as Calleigh immediately stepped in front of him with her gun drawn.

And in that moment it was as if time slowed down. As if they had all held their breath for a moment to wait and see what was on the other side of the door. It was until Calleigh quickly re holstered her weapon that everyone could breathe again.

The door opened and Calleigh stepped into the opening with her gun drawn ready to fire at anything and anyone that approached her. That was until she was face to face with two terrified looking girls huddled together in a corner. Calleigh immediately re holstered her weapon. One of them came running full speed and wrapped her little arms around Calleigh's legs. Calleigh turned and looked back at Horatio and the rest of the team. Horatio pulled the door open entirley and gestured for the rest of the team to come in. Calleigh finally crouched down so the small child could hug her properly. She couldn't have been more than 2. Horatio entered the room and knelt down by the older child who looked to be about 7.

"Hi sweetheart, we're gonna ask you and your sister here to come with us, is that okay?" He asked softly. The child nodded to which Horatio stood and offered his hand for holding which she gladly took. Natalia picked up her phone and began calling someone that they could only assume was child services which Calleigh walked out with the small child in her arms. Ryan followed with Eric as they all headed toward the stairs to leave the household.

"Can you believe that? How long do you think they were down there?" Ryan asked. Eric just shook his head, he couldn't fathom the idea himself. "I can only imagine what they've gone through" Eric added. Before they knew it they were outside the house and watching as Natalia made arrangements with a plump woman standing next to her red Honda. Natalia smiled widely and led the woman over to where Horatio and Calleigh sat with the two girls. Horatio had managed to crack a smile out of the eldest as the youngest still clung to Calleigh as she held her tight.

Eric couldn't help but adore how caring she was toward the small child. Calleigh was easily the toughest female he had ever met and yet this child somehow saw past the woman holding a gun and ran to her with open arms. Eric found himself smiling at the sight and quickly refocused. The woman shook hands with Calleigh and Horatio and then took the hand of the eldest and lead her to the car while Calleigh carried the smallest over and strapped her into a carseat in the woman's car. She spent a few more moments talking to her and then walked back to where the two men were standing.

"Who was that?" Ryan asked while gesturing to the red car that drove away down the street. "Child services, I called them while we were still in there, someone needs to be able to watch over them until we get this sorted out" Natalia answered as she approached from behind. "Plus, I don't think any of the Hummer's are equipped with a carseat for the little one" Calleigh added with a smile. Everyone managed to get a good smile out of that way. "It's amazing news to find that at least half of the family is still alive" Eric said calmly. Everyone nodded in agreeance to that.

"All I know, is I'm ready to get back to the lab where there aren't any trick doors to dodge" Ryan pipped in. Calleigh laughed, Ryan did always manage to get the bad end of every situation somehow, including the trick door that got him shot in the eye with a nail gun not so long ago.

"I second that!" Calleigh said as they all began walking down the driveway to where the Hummer's were all parked side by side. Each member getting into their coordinating vehicles with the partner that they had arrived with. As they pulled away they couldn't help but watch the eerie scene get covered in crime scene tape yet again. It was a terrible thought not knowing where the parents were, but a worse thought knowing that the mysterious man was still at large…

 **OKAY FRIENDS so chapter two is out and about and I know you guys are probably wondering when the EC is going to happen or even the RN but I promise it is coming but I want the story set up more. There is more action and romance to come I promise but I need to build it up first! Leave me your thoughts and comments in the reviews as I LOVE to hear back from you guys!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi again friends! The feedback on here was amazing! I'm sorry this chapter took so long I just was having a hard time find the time to write it!**

 **I also want to take a moment to think about and send prayers to Paris. The things that are happening there right now are horrifying and my heart aches for them, and any country that are dealing with the horror of terrorists right now. God Speed.**

 **Chapter 3**

Calleigh watched intently as the two girls sat in an interrogation room speaking to the child care professional. She knew that the woman knew what she was doing but Calleigh had an odd type of attachment towards the children. Calleigh was finally pulled from her trance at the sound of Natalia's voice. "Right hand" Calleigh shook her head to try and focus herself. Natalia smiled gently as Calleigh put her hand forward. Natalia swiped a wooden pick under each nail in attempt to get some of the DNA that Calleigh might have scratched off of the man's arm. "Sorry, my head is just all over the place these days" Calleigh mumbled. Natalia pushed the collection into a small plastic tube and reached for Calleigh's other hand.

"The girls will be safe here, the team is fine, and you Calleigh Duquesne, might have just helped us catch our perp" Natalia said with a smirk as she dropped the rest of the pick into the tube as well. Calleigh gave a small smile. "I just feel like there is so much more that we could be doing" Calleigh said with a sigh. The process of finding a perp and going through the proper protocol was a lengthy one, and the agents at Miami Dade knew that better than anyone, but it didn't make it any better.

"Well on the bright side-" Natalia started as she put the tube into an evidence bag and stood. "We are all going out to get drinks later and you are one hundred percent coming" Natalia said as closed her evidence box. Calleigh sighed as she stood and wiped her hand off on her pants.

"Your eye candy is going, and I mean, so is the rest of the team" Natalia said with a smirk gesturing to Eric who was just now heading down the hallway talking to Ryan. Calleigh blushed immediately. "He's not my! He's just.. Well.. your eye candy is coming then too I guess!" Calleigh retorted back. Natalia laughed and playfully pushed Calleigh's arm. The two burst into a small laugh at how childish and giddy they both were over the two men at work.

"Let's go, I want this processed as soon as possible" Calleigh said with a laugh as they headed to the door. The two men waited as Calleigh and Natalia exitted to catch up with them. "How are the girls doing?" Ryan asked as they opened the door to the room they were sitting in.

"Yah know, I can't imagine that they could be feeling great after all they have been through-" Calleigh started. She paused mid sentence to wave back to eldest girl in the interrogation room who had caught her eye. "but they're doing good given the circumstances" she finished as she lowered her arm.

"They really seem to like you" Eric added as he watched her smile back at the two girls who now had their faces plastered to the glass wall of the room. "I think they just need someone to make them smile" Calleigh said as she turned away and refaced the group. "So where are you guys headed?" Calleigh asked as she refocused herself on the case.

"We were actually going to go try and get some information from the girls, but were debating getting one of you to sub in, they seem to be more comfortable around women" Ryan explained. "Were either of you busy?" Eric prodded. Calleigh and Natalia looked at each other.

"Natalia was just going to run the samples from under my nails to see if we could get anything. I was just tagging along to speed up the process, but I could go" Calleigh finished. She would've let Natalia go instead but it was no secret that Calleigh specialty was with her guns and not with DNA processing. Eric nodded at the decision. "Well I can go help, we don't need three of us" Ryan added as a suggestion.

"Works for me, let's go get this moving" Natalia said as she began to walk off down the hallway with Ryan in tow. Eric turned to Calleigh and handed her a case file that he was carrying. She raised an eyebrow as if to ask what it was. "I pulled as much information on the family as I could. School records, medical forms, social media accounts. All of it. They were a happy family. Parents have been married for 7 years. Kids are 7 and 2 and a half, Daisy and Violet" Eric finished. "Like flowers" Calleigh said simply as she flipped through the file with a smile. "We're halfway there" Calleigh breathed out as she looked forward. Eric nodded at her and the two entered the room.

Immediately Daisy scooted off her chair and waddled over to Calleigh with a smile. Calleigh crouched down and gave her a gentle squeeze as Eric walked around her and pulled up a seat next to the child care professional whose name her learned was Louise. Violet sat politely next to Louise and shared a smile with Eric as she went back to coloring. Calleigh finally sat in a adjacent chair with Daisy propped up on her lap smiling. Violet looked over at her smiling sister and seemed to lighten up a little bit.

"Remember when we came to get you guys?" Eric asked with a smile. Violet nodded while she continued to color. "And you guys were in that room in the basement-" Eric continued. Violet continued coloring. "Can you tell me if anyone else was in there with you?" Violet stopped coloring immediately and slid her picture to Eric. It depicted a tall black figure and what he assumed was the two girls in a far corner.

"Is this the man that was there the day we came to get you?" Eric asked gently. Violet nodded. "Do you know who he is?" Eric prodded further, being careful not to push the little girl to far. "No, but he took my mommy. He hurt my daddy and he locked us in the basement" Violet explained. She suddenly sunk back into her chair after having spoken. It seemed like the memory was too much for her. Eric looked to Calleigh as if to ask what he should do next.

"Violet, could you tell me anything else you remember about the man, or your mommy or daddy?" Calleigh asked gently. Violet squinted her eyes shut as if to make herself invisibile. "It will help us find them! Don't you want to see them again?" Calleigh pushed. Violet finally opened her eyes. Eric pulled out his phone that had vibrated at the same time as Calleigh's. He opened it and looked at Calleigh with empty eyes. Calleigh knew that the news had to be bad but she ignored it and continued with Violet.

"Daddy was yelling at him. The man was yelling at daddy too. Then it was quiet and mommy started yelling more. She told us to stay downstairs" Violet said sadly. "Mommy came downstairs finally to get us but the man came and locked us all in. We could hear him walking around upstairs. Then after a little while he came and grabbed mommy and locked us back in and then we had to stay there until you came" Violet finished. Calleigh nodded and placed Daisy in her own chair and stood. "I think that's all we need for right now" Calleigh said to Louise. Louise nodded and smiled as she began to pack the girls things. Calleigh exited the room with Eric following until they were in the hallway and could speak freely.

"The blood at the scene matched the husband" Eric said in a sigh. Calleigh ran a hand through her hair. "He has to be on the property. Violet said it went silent, he was either unconscious or-" Calleigh began before Eric cut her off. "Or he is somewhere on the property that the police missed and we didn't get the chance to look for. Calleigh nodded. The chances that the husband was dead rose by the minute.

"I will personally drive us over there to do more searching tomorrow okay?" Eric tried. Calleigh nodded again in defeat. "Let's get those drinks" Calleigh said in a sad tone. Eric was now the one to nod in silence as the two walked towards the locker rooms.

 **Okay guys I had to cut it here! Next chapter will be the bar, a potential break in the case, and some Eric and Calleigh moments?! Lots to come! Leave me your thoughts in the reviews :)**


	4. Chapter 4

I won't bore you guys with my usual messages so I'll keep it short and sweet and just say that I appreciate you and all of your support :)

Natalia looked at her friends reflection in the mirror of the locker room and sighed. "Common Cal, you gotta let that case go for at least the night. Worrying about it isn't going to help anyone" Natalia said as she plopped down on the locker room bench next to the deflated blonde. Calleigh knew there was no point in being upset as it wasn't going to help anyone or anything. she took a deep breath and nodded.

"Okay, no more worrying. Let's go" Calleigh said with a smile as she stood and offered Natalia her hand. Natalia grabbed it and the two laughed as they headed out toward the exit of the locker room. "Together or separate?" Natalia asked as they reached the parking lot. Calleigh thought for a moment. She didn't particularly feel like waking up extra early to pick up Natalia to drive her to work. The two women looked at eachother and laughed as they both said "separate".

Calleigh and Natalia had been sitting at a small booth in the back corner of their favorite bar for about 30 minutes before Ryan arrived and through himself dramatically into the booth. Natalia practically spit out her drink in attempt to hold her laughter when he bumped into Calleigh causing her to choke on her drink. Ryan couldn't help but erupt with laughter as Calleigh smacked him on the arm. Calleigh and Natalia were already two long island's deep and were likely too intoxicated to currently drive. They figured they had plenty of time, and the men were taking too long so instead they finished two rounds until Ryan showed up.

"Always so aggressive" Ryan shouted with mock hurt at Calleigh who was currently wiping her mouth with a napkin from the table. Natalia's face was red from laughter as she smiled and waved towards the door. Calleigh turned to see who it was but with no surprise, it was Eric. For some odd reason she felt her heart beat faster if only for a moment. She quickly turned back to Ryan before she could let anyone potentially see her reaction. Ryan stood to shake Eric's hand in greeting even though the two had just seen each other 30 minutes ago. They were obnoxious in that way. They called it a bromance or something childish.

"What were you drinking Cal, I'll get you a new one" Ryan said with an apologetic smile. Calleigh tried to put on her best angry face with no prevail. "You know what Ryan, I would looooove a shot" Calleigh said as she placed her chin on her hand. Eric raised his eyebrows at the bold choice she had just made.

"You're gonna have to be a little more specific" Ryan said with a laugh. Natalia stood from the booth and grabbed Ryan's arm, dragging him towards the bar to get him away from Calleigh before she gave him something to complain about. Eric settled into the round booth so that Calleigh could still be on the outside. "Shots tonight huh?" Eric asked as he took a swig from Natalia's unattended drink and immediately puckered his mouth at the taste. He hated mixed drinks. Calleigh couldn't help but smile at his reaction as it spread across his face.

"Why not, I mean, I don't go in until-" Calleigh paused to look down at her hands as she silently counted. "Three?" Eric assisted. Calleigh smiled again at his assistance. For a moment she became self conscious that she was acting too intoxicated but before she could delve any further into her feeling Ryan and Natalia had arrived back at the table with what looked like many shots and two glasses of a darker alcohol.

Ryan slid next to Eric and waited for Natalia to scoot in next to him before he began distributing a shot to each member as well as handing a glass of whiskey to Eric while placing the second one in front of himself. Eric nodded as a thank you. Natalia raised a shot glass and everyone else soon followed. "To a great team, and even greater friends" She said proudly. "Cheers" Everyone said with smiles. Ryan looked at Natalia and smiled at her before taking his shot. Eric and Calleigh both saw the exchange and looked at each other with raised eyebrows as if to silently agree that they approved. Calleigh started to laugh at the fact that the both of them had the same reaction as she and Eric through back their shots. Being the clumsy and now intoxicated version of herself, she managed to let some of the burning liquid miss her mouth and dribble onto her chin. Without thinking Eric reached forward with his hand and brushed it away with his thumb. Calleigh felt her skin heat up at his touch.

Eric didn't realize that his hand had been lingering on her face until after he realized that they had been locked in on each others eyes for a little too long. Eric quickly removed his hand and looked away to see if Natalia and Ryan had noticed. Luckily the two were busy arguing about something. Eric hadn't even realized it previously because it seemed as though he was almost blacked out in the moment he had just had with his coworker.

"Eric!" Natalia almost shouted. Eric looked at her seriously as if something were wrong. Calleigh immediately began laughing as she already could tell what was to come. "Dance with me, please!" Eric froze for a moment and tried to find an excuse. "I don't dance I only dance to-" Eric started. The music faded into "Bailando" by Enrique Iglesias. It wasn't the ideal latin music but you could definitely dance to it. Natalia raised her eyebrow as the music changed. "Fine." Eric said as Natalia jumped up excitedly. Eric threw back his entire whiskey as Calleigh scooted out of the booth for him to get out. "Good luck" Calleigh whispered to him as he stood. "You owe me a dance later" He whispered back as Natalia grabbed his arm and yanked him towards the floor.

Calleigh felt her heart pick up again as chills ran down her spine. She quickly pushed her way into Ryan's side of the both as he offered her another shot. The two of them nodded and took their shots quickly. "She's a lot to handle" Calleigh offered as she watched the two of them dance. She smiled as she watched Eric try to keep up with her laid back salsa. It was new to see Eric dance and he was actually… really good.

"I know, but it's worth it right?" Ryan asked. He and Calleigh had the best friendship a person could ever even attempt to match. They didn't need to tell each other things for the other to know. Just like how they both knew of their feelings for the other team members. Both feeling drunk at this point their conversation just flowed. Calleigh turned to him and smiled while she nodded. Ryan smiled back.

"I'm sorry for leaving you at the crime scene" Calleigh said as she sipped on the watered down remains of her old drink. Ryan huffed as he looked at her seriously. "Get up" he said with a straight face. The song finally slowed down to something by Ed Sheeran that was calm and slow. Calleigh felt a pang of sadness in her heart but she stood and waited for whatever Ryan was going to say. He stood and grabbed her hand and pulled her behind him to the floor. "Common Duquense" He said with a smile. Calleigh smiled back as the two danced together as if they were at a prom.

"You'd call me a good friend right?" Ryan asked. Calleigh nodded and rolled her eyes. "Then I don't want to hear any apologies for something that you know you did for the right reasons. Because I, as your good friend, understand" Ryan explained. "Deal" Calleigh replied. The two began to laugh at how ridiculous the current situation was. Until Eric came up and patted Ryan on the shoulder. Ryan backed away and let Eric step in as he backed away and wrapped an arm around Natalia's waist. Eric placed a hand on the small of Calleigh's back and used his other hand to hold hers. He was so strong that she didn't even have to think about the steps.

"I told you, you owed me a dance" Eric said as he looked down at Calleigh who already had a blush on her face. "And a dance you got" Calleigh said with a small voice. Eric couldn't help but smile at her. There was nothing left to say. He hadn't been this close to her for this long ever. Calleigh felt his hand move higher on her back pulling her closer. Her mind was spinning and the room might have been too and all she knew is that her usual self knew so much better than to ever even let herself get into this situation but at this point she didn't care. She leaned in and planted her lips on his. Quickly she pulled away as she had finally realized what she had done when she saw the shocked look on Eric's face. She felt embarrassment and shame and a million other emotions engulf her body and it was too much for her to handle. She turned around quickly and snatched her keys off the table and ran out of the bar.

Little did she know that Eric was quick behind her. She reached her Hummer and fumbled to get the door unlocked. She could hear Eric calling her name but could not bare to deal with the humiliation and confrontation right now. She finally got the key into the lock and turned it just before Eric grabbed both of her arms and spun her around until her back was against the door of the car and she had no other option but to face him.

"You can't drive! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Eric exclaimed. He was angry and upset. Calleigh couldn't even find the words to defend herself. "I can't be here I just need to go" She finally forced out as she tried push passed Eric which, given his size didn't work.

"Calleigh". She kept fighting until Eric grabbed her face. "querida hey, stop" Calleigh finally stopped fighting and looked at him. "Why would you leave like that, what's wrong?" He asked. There was so much care in his voice. Calleigh could not function enough to have this conversation, let alone handle the fact that he just called her querida. He only ever did that when she was too upset or to bring her back. "I just made a fool of myself and I don't really want to explain it Eric please" Calleigh pleaded with him. Eric gave off a small smile that Calleigh didn't understand.

"Calleigh, if you think you embarrassed yourself then I think I'm about to embarrass myself too" He said as he lightened the grip on her. Calleigh felt herself grow more confused as she tried to process what he was trying to say. Before she could think any longer he lifted her chin his his hand and captured her lips in a way that she couldn't even explain. He pulled a few inches away with their foreheads still touching. "Okay?" Eric said softly. Calleigh smiled and pulled him closer by his belt loops to kiss him again. Finally they pulled apart. Eric pushed the lose hair behind her ear and used her keys to open the Hummer door. "I'll drive you home, come on" He said with a smile. Calleigh nodded with a blush and got into her own passenger seat with a smile that she would remember for the rest of the night, until tomorrow came….

OKAY GUYS I LOVED THIS CHAPTER! What happens that night? What happened to Natalia and Ryan? Will they get any further in the case tomorrow? Stay tuned!


	5. Chapter 5

**Explanation to my late chapter and what's been going on is at the end of the chapter so enjoy all the reading first and then you can read my boring rant at the end! Love you guys as always! ENJOY!**

Natalia rubbed her eyes tiredly and tried to push the light out of her eyes that was causing her newfound headache. She rolled over on her side to face away from the sun light that was now pouring through her windows. She pushed herself up onto her elbows and squinted around her room as she attempted to recall the night before. She rubbed her hands over her face in exhaustion and sighed as she lazily through her legs over the side of the bed. Upon doing so she realized she had fallen asleep in the clothes that she had worn the night before. She smiled at how lazy she usually was, but the smile quickly left her face upon realizing that her apartment smelt like coffee and seeing as she had just woken up that meant that someone was there with her.

Natalia felt her heart fall at the possibilities of who might be there until she relaxed upon realizing it was probably Calleigh. Hadn't they made plans to stay the night? She relaxed and stood as she wobbled to the door and opened it only to stumble two steps back at the sight of Ryan Wolfe standing in front of her holding two cups of coffee. "Ryan what the hell?!" She gasped. Ryan smiled and shrugged his shoulders as he walked and sat down on her couch while sipping on one of the cups. Natalia stood in her own doorway trying to figure out what on Earth was happening in front of her. She stood and tried as hard as possible to remember what had happened the night before but the last thing she could remember was dancing with Eric and Ryan pulling her away and then…. And then what?!

"Nothing happened with us last night, and your coffee's getting cold" She heard Ryan call from the couch. He didn't even turn around when he said it, he just kept his eyes glued to the TV. Natalia couldn't help but let a smirk cross her face at his smart attitude he always carried around with him. Or maybe it was the face that he already knew what she was thinking about before he even had the chance to say something. She swayed over the the couch and plopped down next to him while grabbing the cup that was sitting lonely on the coffee table. She didn't say anything for a little while but wanted nothing more than to ask what he was doing there.

"Are you gonna say something or are you just going to keep awkwardly staring at me?" Ryan said with the devilish smirk that always melted her heart. She felt herself blush out of embarrassment. "I just was wondering...what happened… you know if _nothing_ happened" Natalia mumbled. Ryan raised his eyebrow at her prodding questions. He turned towards her on the couch and placed his arm on top of the couch to face her fully.

"You needed a ride home because you couldn't drive, I took you because Eric had to take Calleigh. I stayed on your couch because you demanded to drink more when we got back. You went to sleep on your own and I stayed right here" He explained while pointing to the couch. Natalia sighed. She should've known that drunk or not, he would never try anything with her without her knowing. "Feel better?" He asked with a smile again while playfully nudging her chin. Natalia was about to open her mouth to give him a witty comeback before her phone ringing interrupted her. It was Calleigh.

Natalia stood and answered her phone. Ryan watched as her face grew more and more concerned the longer she stayed on the line. "Okay we'll be there… ugh I mean… I'll be there" Natalia felt a blush spread across her face as she knew Calleigh would be lecturing her later on about what she had meant.

"And with that, I think I'm going to head back to my place and get changed before one of them calls me in" Ryan said as he got up from the couch and grabbed his keys. Natalia smiled at his all knowing attitude. "See you there then" She called after him as he chuckled and shut the door behind him.

*3 Hours Earlier*

Calleigh woke and and smiled at the tan arm that laid across her stomach. She picked his arm up and laid it next to his sleeping body and got out of bed. She walked over to her bathroom carefully as to avoid the squeaky spots on her floor and successfully got into her bathroom and quietly shut the door before turning on the shower. Calleigh leaned against the side of the sink and waited for the water the heat up while she chuckled lightly to herself as she remembered the nights previous events.

The car ride back from the bar was quiet at first but was quickly filled by Calleigh's laughter. Eric couldn't help but laugh too at the unbelievably unrealistic situation that the two of them were currently in. They went from there by bringing up funny memories between the two of them and before they knew it they were back at Calleigh's apartment. Eric walked her to the door and smiled down at her under the dim overhead light that gave off just enough light to spark the emerald green in her eyes.

"Aren't you gonna come in?" Calleigh asked casually with a laugh. To be fair Eric did always come in and never did ever just walk her to her door. They were friends, they hung out every now and then. Eric as usual couldn't help but to laugh and smile at her. Something about her was so contagious. Calleigh struggled to get her key in the door and practically forced all her body weight into the door to get it open. After stumbling into her home and having a panicked Eric grab hold of her hips to study her Calleigh turned around quickly to try to steady herself while still in his arms.

"You-" Eric started while placing a kiss on her forehead, "need water" he finished while walking away from her and heading into her kitchen. Calleigh rolled her eyes as she shut the door and kicked off her heels. She walked into her living room area and picked up her remote growing more and more agitated as she realized her Television wasn't working. Eric walked back in and handed the heated blonde a glass of water in trade for the remote as he attempted to get it to work with no prevail.

Calleigh sipped on her water and watched hopefully and then sadly as she realized Eric couldn't fix it either. She swigged down another half of the glass and placed it down on the table as she walked into her room and fiddled around. Eric raised an eyebrow and followed her to try and figure out what on Earth she was doing, only to find her pulling a dusty remote out of her bedside drawer and smiling in victory as she climbed onto her unnecessarily large sized bed and aimed it at the second TV she had mounted on her wall. A slow hum came from the TV as Calleigh smirked in achievement. She patted the large spot next to her on the bed and Eric plopped down on it gladly. The two sat there for a solid two hours watching info-mericals and catching up while occasionally one of them would get up to use the bathroom in which case they had to bring back popcorn or more water. It probably wasn't until 3am that the two of them had actually fallen asleep.

What made Calleigh smile the most of all was that they kissed, but they kissed twice. Not only that, but the fact that he came in, spent the night in her bed, and they still kept things casual. She honestly could not have gotten luckier. But today was a new day and Calleigh was hard set on solving this case. She got into the shower and tried to re-focus herself on what it was that they would look for. Eric had promised that the two of them could go back early in the morning to look over the scene to try and find more clues as to where or what happened to the husband or the wife. The main concern however, being the husband. Calleigh dried off and quickly dressed from her clothes that she had conveniently hung in her bathroom the night before and exited the bathroom to see her bed empty. She turned the corner to see Eric tying his shoes.

"We agreed on early the next morning didn't we?" He asked with a laugh. Calleigh shook her head at his endlessly bright attitude and never forgetful memory. She holstered her weapon to her side and clipped her badge as the two headed out the door, stopping by the bar to get Eric's Hummer, and then hitting the crime scene for the third time now. The two approached the scene and stood for a moment.

"There has to be something" Calleigh said as she pondered where on Earth they should start. The two began walking to the back of the estate as Eric and Natalia had perfectly inspected it already the day before.

"Yeah I mean there's only one perp, if he took the wife against her will he wouldn't have the man power to take the husband as well…" Eric said. He stopped walking and paused when he realized Calleigh's footsteps had stopped. Calleigh had been thinking and she didn't like what her thought's had brought her to but it had potential. She walked over to the end of the back yard where the estate housed a in ground fire pit.

"Your last crime scene, you said the wife burned all the evidence in a panic at the last minute…" Calleigh said as she bent down by the pit and put on a glove. She picked up what appeared to be a melted cellphone among other unidentifiable items. "I think our perp had the same idea…"

 **OKAY FRIENDS! So I'm back on track and I have big news! So the reason I took so long is because I was studying really hard for this state examination that determines if I can be certified in my course of study (in college). SO not only did I pass with high scores… I GOT ACCEPTED TO AN EVEN BETTER SCHOOL! So the stress is out of the way now and I can focus a little more on this again and I'm so sorry for being gone but I hope you guys loved the chapter and the Ryan and Natalia Fluff and don't you guys worry, Calleigh and Delco will for sure have many more steamy, romantic, and feeling confessing moments to come. Maybe some brought on by danger? What else do you guys think was in the fire pit? Leave me some love! Next chapter coming soon! That's a pinky promise!**


	6. Chapter 6

"How did anyone miss this before?" Calleigh huffed as she paced the area waiting for the rest of them to arrive with more supplies. Eric stood over the fire pit and took more pictures while he listened to Calleigh rant. "I mean, what else would he even put in here? Where did the husband go?!" Calleigh rambled. She stopped for a moment as she heard leaves crumble behind a wall of decorative bushes. Eric raised an eyebrow at her sudden silence. Calleigh turned towards the bushes and stood in silence. She heard it again. She walked away from the fire pit and drew her firearm as she approached it. Eric followed, unsure of what it was that she was going for.

"Cal?" Eric asked in a hushed tone. Calleigh swatted her hand in the air to gesture to him to be quiet. Natalia and Ryan had just arrived and were currently walking up the front of the house with their crime kits. Eric turned around and gestured for them to wait before coming closer. Calleigh pushed and opening through the bushes only to be hit with the strongest stench she had ever smelt and an image that she could never get out of her head. The vulture that had been making the noise flew away from its meal as soon as Calleigh moved the bushes aside. She stumbled backwards into Eric who also had just witnessed the same thing. Calleigh continued walking backwards silently. Eric remained in his position. Seeing that both of the agents put their weapons down Ryan and Natalia slowly approached wondering what the hell the two of them had just seen.

"Call in Alex" Calleigh forced out once they were close enough. Ryan and Natalia both came to a halt again. Calleigh stood from her hunched position and looked at the two of them, "We have a body".

Calleigh had been leaning against the trunk of the Hummer for almost 20 minutes now without saying a single word to anyone. Alex had arrived and was walking a body bag on a gurney to their transport vehicle. Natalia and Horatio stood over by the bushed taking photos while Horatio watched carefully over the entire area. Ryan stood looking agitated as he tried to explain God knows what to a trainee. Ryan always got stuck with mentoring the new people. Eric had just finished helping Alex push the body into the car when he began to walk over to where Calleigh was standing. She didn't seem to notice that he had approached until he placed a hand on her shoulder. Calleigh jumped at the touch as she was suddenly pulled back to reality.

"I know that wasn't what you wanted to find" Eric said simply. He could've said something regarding the fact that the man they found dead, partially burnt, and being pecked at by a vulture, but wisely did not. It also didn't help that the chances of that man being the father they were looking for were fairly high.

"Just imagine… Being assaulted, thrown to a fire, and then being left behind some bushes to rot". Calleigh said while staring off blankly. "That takes a real kind of monster" She finished. Eric just listened. He knew that was all she needed right now. They had all seem some pretty terrible stuff, somethings affected them more than others. Some of them got more attached to cases than they should. Everyone had been there before. "Those girls…" She started. He voice was so quiet as she said it that he almost didn't catch it. Eric put an arm around her shoulder and surprisingly she leaned into it. Calleigh was not one to partake in any kind of physical comfort unless she had volunteered it to someone else. She would accept it to be polite, but this was different. Ryan's trainee looked over at the two, "What, are they like dating or something?" the trainee asked casually while gesturing to Eric who was now facing Calleigh and seemed to be listening to something she was saying. "no, he's just a really good friend" Ryan said as he watched Eric listen carefully to whatever she was saying. Ryan was always there to comfort Calleigh after hard times, but if couldn't, he was glad that Eric was the next in line. Ryan sent the trainee, who he later learned was named Jocelyn, over to Natalia as he headed up to meet up with the other two CSI's. Ryan swiftly reached into his Hummer and came back towards Calleigh who was still standing next to Eric.

"Twizzler for your thoughts?" He asked with a small smile as he held the red candy in front of Calleigh. She felt a small twinge at the corners of her mouth. Calleigh nodded and took the licorice rope while following Ryan back to his Hummer with her evidence tote in the other hand. Eric nodded in appreciation to Ryan who simply smiled back in return.

 **Okay guys so this chapter is intentionally short and randomly cut. I wanted to write so much more but I didn't want to waste any more time. I wanted to just get something out to you guys as soon as I could! She here is a little snipit! I don't think I could even call it a chapter honestly. A REAL chapter is coming I promise! Maybe some action? Some fighting? We shall see! Tell me what you guys want to see!**

 **Also I am really really sorry for the wait. I told you I was going to be quick and I took forever and half. School just keeps on kicking my butt honestly! But thank you all for the sweet wishes and I hope that your holidays were just as wonderful as you all are :)**


	7. Chapter 7

Ryan walked into the morgue just as Alex was pushing a charred man's body back into a space on the wall. Alex noticed Ryan standing there and shut the door on his space and walked over to him. "Any match on the identity of the body?" Ryan asked even though he was already sure he knew the answer.

"I had to go off dental records, the body was too burnt to retrieve any hair or finger prints. That being said, they match that of the missing husband" Alex said with a trace of dismay in her voice as she handed the printed results to Ryan. Ryan sighed and nodded at Alex as a thank you as he walked away. Within seconds of walking out of the morgue he ran into Natalia, quite literally.

"Hey did you-" Natalia stopped herself when she saw Ryan holding the manila folder. "Is it the dad?" She asked. Ryan responded with a nod. "Damnit" Natalia said under her breath. She turned and walked with Ryan back to the crime lab where Eric was to see if he had anything new. As far as the father went they were out of luck, but there was still hope for finding the mother, and more importantly, the killer.

As Natalia and Ryan approached Eric's typical examining room they were pleasantly surprised to find him with a determined look on his face that typically meant he had found something. Ryan dropped the folder on a table and the sound of impact pulled Eric from his focused typing.

"The DNA from under Calleigh's nails, we got a match!" Eric started. Natalia went to Eric chair and began eagerly searching the screen. "Bryan Yeager? Natalia asked in a confused voice. Ryan heard the name and began flipping back through the original case folder that Horatio had given them.

"The prior charge with the restraining order that was later retracted before it could become legal" Ryan read from the folder. Eric pointed to Ryan with a smile on his face.

"How did we miss that?" Natalia asked as she flipped open her phone to call Horatio and inform him of the new information. Eric walked around the back side of the desk and grabbed a sheet he had printed from the printer. "Don't know, but now we have our guy" He responded while heading out of the room with Natalia and Ryan in tow.

"Lets go, I'll explain on the way. Two vehicles" Horatio yelled as he jogged down the hallway. Eric began to jog after him keeping pace so he could get at least part of the story. "H what-" Eric started before Horatio cut him off while throwing open the doors to the parking lot.

"Calleigh is after our perp, on her own" Horatio said loud enough for all three agents to hear. Eric felt all different emotions boiling up inside himself. How could she be so reckless? When did she even manage to leave the lab?

"Natalia, Ryan, I want the two of you to drive to the hotel and get Louise, Violet, and the mother before anyone else can question them. Units are already there" Horatio yelled over his shoulder as he pulled himself into the Hummer. Ryan and Natalia both looked at each other with confused faces. The mother was safe (as far as they knew) and now there was only one child, and the child services employee. Ryan started the engine as Natalia buckled her seat belt and the Hummer with Horatio and Eric went whipping by, sirens blaring.

Horatio tossed his phone to Eric that a GPS tracking what he assumed was Calleigh's Hummer.

"Left on Broad Dr" Eric practically yelled over the raging noise of the sirens. "This is Calleigh's right?" Eric yelled to confirm his suspicions. "No, it's our perps" Horatio shouted. Eric felt his heart sink a little more. The chase wasn't after Calleigh pursuing the killer, it was after the killer who had Calleigh.

Back at the hotel

Ryan whipped the Hummer into the parking lot of the hotel only to join about 5 other police cars. Natalia looked at Ryan before they opened the doors "I'll try and distract them, you find a logical way to get them into our custody?" Ryan nodded as they exitted and rushed toward the three females that they needed. Natalia looked over her shoulder and saw an approaching news van. She walked over to a group of three officers who seemed to be standing guard and pointed to the van. "They are going to be all over this story if you guys don't keep them back" She said in a rushed voice. The three officers all took off towards the van to try and keep it at bay. If there was one thing that law enforcement hated most, it was news crews being in their investigation.

Ryan approached the three and smiled at Louise who remembered who he was. "Hey guys, I'm going to ask you to come with me so we can get you to our lab and get you away from all of this chaos. Does that sound okay?" Ryan asked with a charming smile. Violet looked up to her mother waiting for a response until she nodded with a straight face and followed him. Ryan opened the Hummer door and waited until all three had gotten in safely before shutting the door.

"Hey we need to question them!" A voice yelled from the other side of the lot while point at the Hummer, drawing attention to them. Natalia came back towards the Hummer to intervene while Ryan went around the side and got in. "We were called by a higher up to get the victims to a safer location as opposed to keeping them here out in the open" She retorted with a fiery attitude that what make anyone back down.

"And who exactly is your higher up?" A voice yelled as Natalia got into the Hummer.

"Try, Horatio Cane" Ryan yelled out the window as they drove by with no more chatter from the other officers. Natalia turned around in her seat once they were finally on a normal road again.

"So you must be the mother" she said while looking at the sleep deprived and bruised woman in the back seat.

 **Okay guys, kinda short again I know. But I have big ideas for this story so I gotta keep you guys on the edge of your seats! Next chapter: Where is Daisy? How did the mother end up back with Louise and Violet? What sparked all of this in the first place? AND will Eric and Horatio make it to the killer in time? Leave me some love and some ideas as to what you think will happen! You guys are all so creative I love reading your input! Thank you again for the reviews on my last super short upload, you guys are the best :)**


	8. Chapter 8

Natalia watched in silence from the outside of the interrogation room as Ryan went in to inform the mother of her husband's death. Valeria had gladly taken the daughter and Louise on a tour of the lab to give the mother some alone time to process. Ryan walked in and shut the door behind him and looked at the bruised woman. Before he could even open his mouth to speak she began crying and covered her face with her hands. Ryan looked down at the ground unsure of what he could do or even say to make the situation better. Natalia watched helplessly from the other side of the glass. There was nothing that could make this situation better for her. She was finally safe, and reunited with one of her children, but just found that her husband is deceased and her other child is with the man who likely did it. She couldn't get a break.

Ryan took a breath and rolled up his sleeves as he took a seat at the table. "Rose?" Ryan asked quietly. The mother took a breath and wiped the tears off her face as she tried to collect herself. "That's your name, right?" Ryan said with a small smile once he finally caught her gaze. She nodded as she used her arm to wipe the remaining tears. "And your daughters are both named after flowers as well?" Ryan said trying to cheer her up a little bit, while also trying to get her to warm up to him.

Rose let a small smile through. "It was their father's idea. My husband adored the idea. He was witty that way" She explained. Natalia felt a ping in her chest at the pain that this woman must be going through.

"Rose, I know that this is all happening really quickly and that you must have a million different emotions running through your head, but if you can, I need you to tell me everything that happened" Ryan said as gently as he could. He knew that any person would want at least some time to sit and reflect of what was happening but they didn't have time. Rose looked at Ryan with glassy eyes. He watched as her face turned from mourning to anger in a matter of seconds.

"Bryan. That's what happened." She nearly spat. Ryan removed the head shot photo they had of him on file from the dropped case and laid it on the table between them. "Can you identify this man?" He asked while watching her facial expression. Natalia watched from the window praying that she would identify him as the same Bryan that she was talking about. She looked down at the photo and looked away just as quickly.

"That's the man that took my baby and killed my husband" She said as her face turned red and she swatted the the photo off the table. Ryan turned and looked to Natalia to make sure she had heard clearly that they had their confirmation. Natalia nodded and picked up the phone as she walked away. "Your daughter has one of Miami's finest with her, there's nothing to worry about" Ryan said with a tight smile as he stood from the table and exited the room. An officer entered following his leaving to get her official statement.

"Realistically speaking, you could drop us off on the side of this road, and avoid getting charged with the kidnapping of a federal agent" Calleigh said calmly as she looked at the stressed out face of the man who was frantically driving down the road. "I mean, given the rest of your pending charges, knocking that one off would definitely help" Calleigh continued as she turned around to check on Daisy who was seemingly unphased and napping in her car seat.

"Listen lady, YOU volunteered this trade. You said I would be safer with you in this car!" Bryan hissed as he gripped the steering wheel tighter.

"Well, that's true, they won't harm you if I'm in your presence once they find you. But they haven't found you yet. So, dropping us off would make your trip quicker and you wouldn't have to worry about that little extra charge" Calleigh said as she looked at her blouse trying to keep her mock calm composure. Bryan stretched an arm across the middle area and grabbed Calleigh arm tightly, "I am tired of talking about this lady" He yelled, loud enough to wake Daisy from her sleep, which she announced by crying loudly. "DAMNIT! Now you woke the brat!" He yelled again which only encouraged Daisy to keep whaling. Bryan was getting increasingly frustrated as his face grew red and he accelerated.

"Why don't I climb in the back and calm her down?" Calleigh prodded in a calm tone. Bryan was quiet for a moment debating her request. "You already took my gun, what other damage do you really think I could do?" Calleigh pushed as she raised her one free arm. It should be noted that Upon entering the vehicle Bryan used Calleigh's cuffs to restrain her right wrist to the door handle. "I'll re-cuff myself to the back handle" Calleigh urged. Bryan still seemed to be thinking until Daisy erupted with another round of screams. Bryan yelled in frustration as he sloppily fished the key out of his pocket and handed it to Calleigh who slowly unlocked the cuffs as to not worry Bryan. She handed the key back to him and crawled into the back seat at which time she saw the CSI Hummer approach. Her eyes grew wide as she locked sight with Eric and felt the car accelerate heavily at the sound of their sirens. Calleigh roughly fell the rest of the way into the back.

"HOW THE HELL ARE THEY HERE LADY?" Bryan asked while pulling her own gun out and pointing in roughly in the area of her figure. "I don't know.." Calleigh said quietly. Daisy continued to scream and it was clear that Bryan was on edge as he swerved around cars and increased speed steadily. Calleigh watched as two more squad cars appeared behind the Hummer, he would quickly be surrounded. Bryan seemed to notice this as well as he let out another infuriated yell. Bryan cocked back the gun and faced it again and Calleigh but was ready to pull the trigger this time. As he turned back around to check the road Calleigh swiftly braced her back against the seat and jammed her heel into his arm pushing it up high enough to break or dislocate something. In the process however the gun went off shooting straight by Calleigh's head and shattering the back window.

The gun fell to the trunk as the car swerved violently throwing Calleigh into the door. There was no way this would end safely. Calleigh looked forward and noted that Bryan wasn't wearing a seat belt. Her ears ringing so loudly that nothing other than the ringing was audible. She yanked the seatbelt across her chest as she yanked the belt on Daisy's car seat pulling her tightly against the seat. Calleigh turned back and stared right at Horatio. Their Hummer was all of 5 feet behind them. Calleigh took a deep breath in and all of her faith and yelled "RAM IT" as loud as she possibly could. She watched as Eric turned to Horatio with a shocked face while Horatio nodded and accelerated. Calleigh faced the front of the car and laced her hand through the seatbelt holding Daisy's car seat in place and pulled her hand as close to her chest as she could, securing her seat as much as possible.

Eric wiped the sweat from his palms on the tops of his pants and focused of the car that held Calleigh, their perp, and an innocent child. There wasn't much that they could see into the car but they could visibly see that the car was swerving and accelerating. "What's the game plan here H?" Eric yelled again over the sirens. Horatio shook his head as he scrunched his face to match the acceleration of the car in front of them. The car swerved sharply as a gunshot was heard and the back window shattered. It was almost as if everything paused for a moment. As if time had stopped. Horatio pulled closer to the car, seemingly unphased.

Suddenly Calleigh's face turned around in the car as she yelled. It was faintly heard but what she mouthed was clear. ' _RAM IT_ '. Eric looked at Horatio to ensure that they were on the same page. They weren't going to Ram that car, they couldn't. There was way too much to risk. Eric had never seen such a fire in Calleigh before. She looked at Eric quickly as she turned back around in the car and she looked different. As if she knew exactly what she was doing and if it didn't work, she didn't care. It was terrifying. Horatio seemed to make a small nod back at her. Eric looked at the speedometer that read 80 MPH. The freeway was decently empty, but was also only two lanes in one direction and two in the other direction. He had a strong feeling that Horatio was going to follow through with her plan.

"H, they're going too fast, a ram won't-" Eric started in fear for Calleigh and the child's life. "WE don't have time" Horatio yelled without taking his eyes off the road. Eric realized he was right. How long until another shot went off. How long until he decided to do something else. Calleigh wouldn't have suggested that if she thought there was any other option. She cared more for that little girl than anyone else on the team. She had to think this was the only option to stop the madness. Eric looked again at Horatio who finally looked back at him. "Let's do this" Eric spoke at a normal tone. Horatio nodded again and floored it. They pulled up next to the car and decelerated enough so that the hood of their Hummer was in line with the back tires. Eric looked over in a quick moment and watched as Calleigh pulled on the seat belt and secured herself as much as she could. This was it.

Horatio tightened his grip on the wheel and whipped the wheel hard to the left, slamming the Hummer into the back end of the small compact car. The car fish tailed for a few seconds until one of the tires gave out and the car turned completely around so that Bryan was now facing them. That was until Horatio skimmed the front end of their car causing it turn again and flip once while sliding into the grassy median area. Horatio slammed the brakes of the Hummer while also turning the wheel so that they were turned facing the car. The dented car laid on its hood and wheels spun slowly. Eric jumped out of the Hummer and immediately began running towards the car. Selfishly, for Calleigh. They heard a loud thump and a child crying. Daisy was at least Horatio followed directly behind him. Before they could even reach the car the passenger side door swung open revealing a battered Calleigh with her hand glued to Daisy who was still stuck in her car seat that was fastened to the ceiling.

"I need help" She yelled as if to completely ignore the fact that she was likely injured in more ways than one. Eric stood in shock for a moment next to Horatio. "Now!" Calleigh urged from her squatted position in the car. Eric was about to run to the other side of the car when a figure was seen crawling in the distance. Bryan…

 **Okay guys I know I ended it at a sort of odd spot but I couldn't leave TOO MUCH of the story in this chapter! I did make sure I left you an extra long one so I hope you guys liked it! Questions to move us forward! What will happen with Bryan? How is Calleigh actually doing physically after that crash? AND MOST IMPORTANTLY: WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN WITH ERIC AND CALLEIGH?! leave me your ideas and feedback in the reviews :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**I gotta say, there is no greater feeling than reading all of your guys' comments and questions about the story. It's a really cool feeling to know that I have people out there that are truly interested in what I'm writing and for that I'd like to thank you all! I hope this chapter gets some of those out of the way!**

~ back at the lab ~

Natalia watched as Rose sat in the questioning room with a blank face while the officer finished up his questions and walked out. Natalia knew that there were better things that she could be doing with her time but she also knew that this woman looked like she needed a friend. She walked past the officer and entered the room offering Rose a small smile as she sat down with her.

"I think your daughter should be back from her tour in a little while" Natalia started. Rose smiled as she looked up from the table.

"With a place this big, it wouldn't surprise me if she was gone another hour!" Rose said with a smirk. A conversation that involved either of her children was always something that could bring a smile to her face. Natalia let out a quiet chuckle. "I do appreciate everything that you all have done for us. I know it's not in your paycheck to have to do all of this" Rose continued. Natalia reached across the table and placed her hand on top of Rose's.

"There isn't a single person in this lab that wouldn't have done the same thing" Natalia reassured. "I know that you are probably worried about Daisy, and I wanted to let you know that the woman with her is one of our best agents. That being said, I was hoping you could explain to me how all of this came to be? We're trying to get all of the story in as much detail as possible" Natalia urged. Rose nodded.

"Bryan had been sending me e-mails over the past month. Crazy things. I reminded him that he had a restraining order and that he needed to stop. A few days later he showed up at our house. My husband…" Rose stopped for a moment as the information that he was dead was still fresh in her memory. Natalia gave her handle a gentle squeeze.

"Take your time" Natalia said softly to comfort her.

Rose took a deep breath and continued. "My husband came down stairs after he heard me talking to Bryan at the door. I had threatened to call the cops and that was when John had come down. I would've stayed but I saw Violet at the end of the hallway and I didn't want them to panic. I told Violet to get her sister and go to their secret place. Our panic room. We tried to make it a fun place so the girls wouldn't be scared. When I came back Bryan was fuming. He was yelling about how he was right for me, how this family was a lie. John kept pushing him back. John looked at me in a way that was different. Like something was wrong. And Bryan…. he looked crazy. Like how he used to get. I went downstairs and told the girls not to open the door until I came back. Right as I came up stairs I saw Bryan hit John. John fell and didn't get back up. I didn't know what was happening, I don't really remember much after that except waking up in the trunk of a car" Rose explained. Natalia watched painfully as Rose poured her heart out of the moments of the past week or so.

"Bryan kept me at his place, or what I assume was his place. He locked me in at all times and kept telling me that I just needed to 'come around'. That soon enough I would 'remember the love we had'. I began to worry that the girls wouldn't of left the panic room. I made deals with Bryan. I would be more loving if he would drop by food for the girls. He did so for a while, until the day that you guys showed up. He was furious with me" She explained as she pointed to the darkened bruise on her cheek. "He thought that I had set him up. That it was a plot all along. He knew that you would have gotten the girls so we made a new deal. He had been watching, he knew that the girls and that woman were staying at a hotel. I told him that if he could get the girls that we would be a family, we could get married even. I was willing to do anything at that point. So we drove and when we got there that officer was there. She must've known our faces. She explained to Bryan that he would go to jail if he took the girls. Bryan was panicking. That woman told him that if let me go, that they couldn't hurt him. Bryan wasn't having it. He was set on the idea of a family. He told her he wanted her gun first. She gave it to him and he pushed me forward. I had both of the girls for once. It was amazing. Until he turned the gun and demanded that he take one of the girls to make sure that we would still be together once this all blew over. He took Daisy…" Rose recalled. "He had this mindset that all he had to do was hide out for a little while and then he would find a way to get back to us. He wasn't right in the head. He didn't understand that he had already committed so many crimes. There was no way that things could play out that way. That officer though, she looked so confident in what she was doing. I watcher her buckle Daisy in so calmly as he held a gun at her. He handcuffed her to the door and then they drove off. I remember her looking at me out the window and nodding, as if she had everything under control…" Rose finished as she looked out the window. Nothing made sense. How she even ended up here.

Just at the perfect time Violet came skipping down the hallway and straight into the interrogation room. She was like a ray of sunshine. "She's going to bring back my daughter right? They are aren't they?" Rose asked with a straight face. Natalia nodded with a smile. "That's a promise" Natalia said as she got up and left the mother to be with her one daughter. Natalia left the room and walked up to Eric who was walking back with Valeria. Valeria took Louise down another hall to get some coffee as Eric caught up to Natalia.

"Hey you alright? You look exhausted" Ryan asked as he placed a hand on Natalia's shoulder.

"I just talked to the wife, she's holding up surprisingly well but, I promised her that Daisy would come back fine. I knew that wasn't a promise I could keep" Natalia said with disappointment heavy in her voice. Ryan wasn't really sure of what to say. They really didn't know. Infact, they hadn't even heard so much as an update yet. They two turned back towards the room as watched as Rose hugged Violet tightly. Rose looked up for a moment and jumped from her chair with her eyes as wide as they could be. Puzzled, Natalia and Ryan turned around to see not only Daisy, but Horatio, Eric, Bryan, and Calleigh walking through the doors. Eric pushed by the group with Bryan cuffed in front of him. He wobbled by with a limp that Eric had no concern for. He pushed forward towards one of the back interrogation rooms that lacked the public glass windows. He didn't deserve to be able to see everyone.

Rose came rushing out of the room, running towards her daughter. One of the officers accompanying the team handed Daisy over to her mother as soon as she was close enough to grab her with her own hands. They all smiled at the accomplishment they had made. The officer directed the reunited family back to the room they were previously in. Rose looked back for a moment and mouthed "thank you" to Calleigh, who only replied with a smile and a nod.

There stood Ryan, Natalia, Horatio, and a banged up Calleigh. "Well.. You look like hell" Natalia said, breaking the silence. Ryan and Horatio couldn't help but let out small chuckles. Calleigh rubbed her hands over her face and smiled. It had been a hell of a day. "Have you been-" Ryan started before Calleigh cut him off.

"Yes I have been checked by medical" Calleigh finished. "Hardly that, you had your pulse taken and your eyes checked. You know that you're going down to Alexx for a thorough check" Horatio finished with a stern look in his eyes. Calleigh rolled her eyes with a smile.

"I gotta ask though, why were you even there?" Natalia asked with curiosity in her voice.

"Calleigh, I want you checked out and then in my office" Horatio cut in again. It was clear that he was not happy in her endeavours, more importantly in her choices. They had all only be reunited for a few minutes and it was already back to business. Calleigh knew that her decisions were rash but they had to be done.

Horatio turned on a heel to head back to his office expecting Calleigh to reply. He turned back around and looked at her as she stood still looking at the floor. "It's just to get some of this paperwork filed away regarding the case, you know the drill" He added on. Still no response.

Natalia stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder for moral support. The day's events must have taken a toll on her. Calleigh looked up at the exact time that Eric was returning back down the hallway to join their conversation. The second she lifted her head she recalled the concerned look on Eric's face, and the was the last thing she saw before the darkness.

 **Alrighty guys, I was going to write more but I didn't want to steal away all of the craziness of our next chapter. The bulk of this one was just to clear up some questions. So we still don't know why Calleigh ended up at that scene. We don't know what happened to Calleigh after Horatio and Eric finally met up with her. Most importantly, we don't know what just happened to Calleigh! Let me know what you guys are thinking! We have much more coming for this story, more action, more drama, and as promised there will be more romance… SOON! Stay tuned!**


	10. Chapter 10

_"Calleigh, I want you checked out and then in my office" Horatio cut in again. It was clear that he was not happy in her endeavours, more importantly in her choices. They had all only be reunited for a few minutes and it was already back to business. Calleigh knew that her decisions were rash but they had to be done._

Eric overheard Horatio telling Calleigh she needed to get checked and then head to his office. He approached the group and grew confused as he saw Calleigh staring at the floor, as if she were a guilty child. Natalia reached out and patted her shoulder in support. Eric was finally joined up to the group as Calleigh looked up and locked eyes with him. She wasn't there. It was as if her eyes were dead. Eric knew something wasn't right. It was as if the moment was played in slow motion. The second after he made eye contact with her, her emerald green eyes rolled to the back of her head. Her head leaned back as her legs simultaneously gave out. Horatio grabbed her small framed body around the waist to try and break at least some of her fall. "WE NEED MEDICAL" Eric yelled as rushed the remaining feet between them to help Horatio in getting her up. Natalia stood helpless watching the two of them grabbing and lifting her body like a rag doll. Her head rolled around with every movement like that of a new born baby. Her arms and legs were lifeless. It was like everything went silent and life just continued to happen and all she could do was watch from the sidelines.

Alexx came rushing down the hallway with an assistant. "Put her down" Alexx demanded as she finally reached them. Horatio and Eric gently laid her down onto the ground on her back. Horatio backed up to give Alexx room. Eric crouched down and stated by Calleigh's side.

"What happened baby?" Alexx cooed to her as she removed her flashlight and opened one of Calleigh's eyes. "Pulse is thready, but it's there" Alexx's assistant informed as he removed the stethoscope from his neck. Alexx watched as Calleigh's pupils slowly dilated and constricted back.

"That's good right? Her pupils changed in response to light! That means she's okay?" Eric rushed. Ryan saw the flashing lights approaching and rushed to the door to open them for the paramedics to get in. Alexx sighed. "It's good, but it's slow. That's not considered normal" Alexx explained. Eric watched as Alexx rolled Calleigh's head to the side and a small amount of clear liquid came out of her ear. Alexx looked up to Eric hoping that he hadn't seen it, but he had. The paramedics came in and began to get Calleigh onto a backboard.

"Patient has brain fluid draining through the left ear, slow pupil dilation, and a thready pulse" Alexx listed off as she aided them in lifting Calleigh onto the gurney. Eric felt his heart drop. _Brain Fluid._ "Eric, I'm going to ride with them, and you're going to follow us okay?" Alexx said to him calmly, she knew he was probably panicking. Eric couldn't stop looking at Calleigh as they inserted a tube into her throat. "Eric, follow us there. She will be okay" Alexx said again. Eric finally tore his eyes off of her and looked at Alexx. She looked confident, like how Calleigh had looked when she told them to ram the car. Eric nodded blankly and watched as Alexx ran and hopped into the back of the ambulance. Horatio slammed the door of the ambulance closed and proceeded to jog towards his Hummer.

"Eric" He yelled out. Eric felt his legs jogging after Horatio to join him in his Hummer but couldn't figure out how. He pulled himself in and pulled the seatbelt across his chest as Horatio pulled out of the parking lot and followed the ambulance.

"She said there was brain fluid coming out of her ear" Eric finally said. Horatio closed both his eyes for a moment at the statement. He knew that something serious was wrong with Calleigh, he was just avoiding the thought. "If we hadn't rammed the car-" Eric started. "If we hadn't rammed the car he could have shot and killed her. He could have run the car off a bridge. We did the best thing in the moment" Horatio intervened. He wouldn't let Eric take on the guilt. Eric slumped back into his seat and ran his hands over his face. This day had been full of insane trips. Calleigh seemed a little weird after the case but he didn't think much of it.

Eric thought back to the scene..

Horatio and Eric began approaching the car when the passenger side door opened. There was Calleigh, squatted inside the car with her arms reached up holding Daisy in place, who was still secured to the seat. "I need help" Calleigh called out. Eric look at her. She had little trails of blood running down her cheeks and forehead and yet seemed to be perfectly fine. "Now!" Calleigh yelled. The frustration in her voice tore Eric right from his thoughts. He started towards the car to help Calleigh. "Miami Dade PD, stop right there!" Horatio called out as he pulled out his gun. Eric stopped for a moment to see Horatio with a gun drawn at none other than Bryan. He appeared a few feet from the car, crawling away. He laid flat down on the ground with his hands above his head until Horatio made his way over to cuff him.

Eric went to the other side of the car and managed to get the door open.

"Alright Calleigh, you hold onto the kid and I'll cut the belts off" Eric ordered. Calleigh just looked at him and secured Daisy with her hands. Two officers approached and waited outside of the flipped car to assist where needed. Eric began cutting at the belts and tried to push his curious thoughts out of his head. After all that happened she couldn't even talk to him? She said nothing. It didn't seem right and it didn't seem like Calleigh. Then again, nothing today really added up. Soon enough the belts were cut and Daisy was freed from the car seat. Calleigh hugged her for a split second to comfort the crying child before handing her to an officer outside the car who ran her up to the EMT's. Calleigh lost her balance in her squatted position and fell a little to side before catching herself on the door frame.

"Hey, let me help you" Eric said with an obvious hint of concern in his voice. Calleigh just shook her head. Eric got out of the car and stood waiting for her to get out as well, he didn't trust her to do it on her own. She was acting off. Calleigh stepped out of the car and began to stand up before she began to lean backwards. Eric reached forward and placed a hand on her lower back to steady her. She grabbed onto his arm to steady herself. "Calleigh, let's get you checked out alright?" Calleigh wouldn't even make eye contact with him. He began leading her up the slight hill to the paramedics. He watched as she rubbed her head and squinted. Probably just whip lash. He didn't want to ask her again, the paramedics would get it figured out. One of them reached out a hand with a warm smile towards Calleigh. Calleigh looked up and gave a slight smile back and took her hand in assistance towards the ambulance. Calleigh somehow always got this paramedic and she knew damn well how difficult and stubborn that Calleigh was.

"Quick check and I'll let you go, but you have to cooperate!" The paramedic said as she helped Calleigh to a seat on the back end of the ambulance. Calleigh just nodded. "I'll give her back in a few minutes!" She called out to Eric. Eric nodded and walked over the where Horatio was.

"We got our man, and we got Calleigh. Job well done" Horatio said as the two of them watched Bryan get put into the back of a police vehicle. Eric shook his head and scowled at the sight of Bryan. "How's Calleigh?" Horatio asked while turning to face Eric. "I don't know H, something seems off with her" Eric replied while furrowing his brow. The paramedic patted Calleigh on the back and just like that it was all to be fine. Calleigh stood from the ambulance and headed towards the two of them.

"Looks alright to me, drive her back and I'll escort the officer with Daisy. I'll talk to her when we're all settled" Horatio stated as he walked away before Calleigh could reach them. Eric watched her with worry as she approached. "Why do you keep giving me that look? I'm fiiine Eric" Calleigh said with a small chuckle in her voice. Eric was surprised at her sudden change in attitude.

"I mean you were just in an insane car accident Cal" Eric said as he watched her face for an expression, for anything that would give him an excuse to get her to be honest. Nothing. She smiled and gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I think I just had some bad whiplash, but I swear I'm feeling much better" She said with a trace of her southern drawl. Her eyes were genuine and Eric couldn't help but smile back in relief. She was actually okay, or so he thought. Or so even she thought. He drove her back to the lab and they met up with the rest of the team and then, this.

Here they were. Eric sat as Horatio demanded more information from the doctor but Eric had zoned out. Ryan was comforting Natalia and Eric sat by himself staring at the clock on the wall. They had been sitting there for 45 minutes now. 45 minutes and 36, 37, 38 seconds. Eric was so focused on the clock that he could practically hear the ticking. Focusing on that meant not focusing on the fact that the doctors wouldn't give them a clear answer, not focusing on the fact that Alexx had yet to be seen, or that everything seemed to be falling apart and the hope that they had once held high was slowly creeping down.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

Another door opened again with a glowing red sign above it that read "Medical Personnel Only". Horatio had stopped yelling, Natalia had stopped crying, and Ryan fell silent. Eric dripped the edges of the waiting room chair and stood as they watched Alexx emerge in scrubs. She removed the mask from her face and stepped forward. Nobody moved except for Eric how practically ran to her. Alexx waited for a moment before speaking. The team slowly gathered around her to hear whatever it was that she was going to say.

"Calleigh has some bleeding in her brain…" She started.

 **Friends I have got to say that I love writing this story and hearing from you guys afterwards! But a little update for anyone reading who got confused or concerned. Brain fluid is pretty much a liquid that is in the brain and spine and it acts as a kind of pillow for a part of the brain. When there's trauma to the head or brain this fluid can sometimes leak out through the ears! You can feel free to look into it it's actually very interesting! But ANYWAYS thank you for all of your support and keep it coming! What's going to happen to Calleigh? Will she survive? And next chapter we will finally see some EC action, whether it will be happy or sad is up in the air right now! So let me know what you guys think!**


	11. Chapter 11

_"Calleigh has some bleeding in her brain…" She started._

The words felt like knives to the chest. Horatio took a step back and gripped the edge of the counter he was standing next to. Eric didn't move a single muscle. He just kept staring at Alexx, waiting for her to say more, waiting for her to say it was okay, that it was over, that this was all actually a dream.

"So what happens now? Ryan finally spoke up.

"She's going into surgery now, there's no way to tell how long it'll take. They have to find the bleed and try to stop it first, then assess what type of damage has been done" Alexx began explaining. Eric stepped back and left the building. Natalia was about to go after her before Horatio grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Let him go, he needs to breathe" Ryan said gently. Natalia went to head back to her seat. "What do you think is going to happen" Ryan asked while pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I think she is a strong girl, and that they have the best doctors in the state here" Alexx said with a tight smile. She placed a hand over Horatio's. "I better get back" Alexx said softly. Horatio nodded. Alexx turned back around and re-entered the door she had previously came from. None of them knew how to respond.

Eric paced outside the hospital trying to get his thoughts together. Brain Surgery. He knew he needed to calm down and that right now there was nothing that he could really do to help. He felt like a fish out of water. The one thing he needed was to take a deep breath and air was all around him but he couldn't get it. His mind was spinning and he couldn't get his head on straight. He turned around and punched his fist into the brick wall. The pain shot up his arm like a bolt of lightning and finally he was back. He gripped his hand and squinted his face at the pain. He looked up and saw Horatio standing there watching him with his arms folded across his chest.

"We need to get Bryan processed and we need to build this case" Horatio started. Eric watched as Natalia and Ryan exited the hospital and got in their Hummers. "You're staying here, we will handle this" Horatio finished. Eric looked down at his hand and realized that he would be of no help to them around Bryan. He nodded and walked back towards the entrance. Horatio put a hand on Eric's shoulder and stopped him for a quick moment, "She is going to be alright" He said confidently. With that Horatio walked away and back towards his own vehicle. Eric took a deep breath and headed back into the waiting room. He needed to get it together. He needed to be strong for her. He needed to believe she would be okay.

He read through every magazine in the entire waiting room area. He watched multiple families enter and exit the doors, always leaving with smiled on their faces. He watched the arms on the clock move as slow as ever. He must of dozed off at some point because he woke up to Alexx sitting next to him nudging his arm. Eric saw it was her and shot up in his seat.

"How is she?!" He spurt out without thinking. Alexx looked at him with a smile that seemed to be hiding something.

"Surgery went well, they stopped the bleeding. She is still asleep right now and we won't really know what damage has been done until she wakes" Alexx explained. Eric searched for the words that he could string together into a sentence. "She will still have basic abilities as far as we can tell, walking and breathing on her own" Alexx began again. "As far as things like vision, hearing, and memory, we are not so sure". She finished. Eric nodded. He couldn't believe any of the things that she was suggesting, he wouldn't. Her sight, her hearing, her memory? Those were the things that made up who she was as a person. The person he loved. "You can see her if you'd like?" Alexx suggested. Eric just nodded again. Alexx stood and offered her hand to him. She had always cared for them like a mother. Eric took her hand as the walked through hallways and eventually the walk got more quiet until it was silent. The ICU. Eric dropped Alexx's hand as he saw Calleigh through the glass window. He had a flashback to the fire incident when she ended up in the same position. When she collapsed in his arms and he again had to carry her.

"You can go in, some people say that talking helps? She will wake up on her own eventually" Alexx explained as she pat him on the arm. "I need to get back to my real job now, but I will keep in touch with the doctors here" She said as she walked back down the hall that they had initially come from.

Eric took a deep breath and entered the room slowly. He pulled a chair up to the side of her bed and took her hand. He remembered doing the same thing not so long ago when this happened. She was always so devoted to the job. She always put people before herself.

"Calleigh, why do you do this?" Eric said quietly as he rubbed a thumb over the top of her hand. "You always go so far, and I will always admire that about you querida, but you've done too much this time. I can't keep coming here and praying that you will come out of it alright, you've got to be selfish for once. You've got to put yourself first" Eric said. He looked up at her bruised face, her head wrapped in a bandage. "Come back to me Calleigh, come back to us" He nearly begged. He felt his eyes sting as he looked at her body, it seemed so small. He watched as her eyes squinted up and she blinked a few times. Eric shot up from his chair.

"Calleigh?! Hey Cal look at me!" Eric pleaded. Calleigh turned her head and locked eyes with him and immediately began to cry. "I NEED HELP IN HERE! SHE'S AWAKE" Eric yelled. He felt a small smile cross his face as he wiped the tears from her cheeks. A nurse quickly entered the room with a doctor in tow.

"Hey Ms. Duquense, glad you decided to join us today" The doctor said with a warm smile.

 **Okay guys short chapter because the next one is going to be long. So Calleigh is awake but what about the damage that Alexx was talking about? We know she can at least hear and see, but what about her memory? More to come so let me know what you guys thought!**


	12. Chapter 12

Everything hurt. She felt as though all of the gravity in the world was pushing down on her head. Like she had ran a million miles and had just woken up and she had no idea where she was. But she saw Eric. The second she met his eyes she went straight back to when she last saw them and the pieces started fitting together. She remembered the crash, and she remembered standing in that lobby at work and feeling dizzy. She remembered looking up and seeing his eyes and then nothing at all. And now he was all she knew in this room of people that were all buzzing around her. There was three of them now, one of them had a bright smiling face and seemed like the calm of it all. He kept looking down at a board and muttering medical terms under his breath. There was a brown haired woman that was shining a light passed her eyes and another one tapping on her knee to check for response. It was overwhelming and everything was happening at once and she had no idea how she even got here and then he grabbed her hand.

Calleigh looked down at her hand and saw another hand holding it. She followed the arm up to his face and it was like a calm in a storm. If Eric was here and he was calm right now then everything must be okay. He smiled at her and roughly wiped a tear out of the corner of his eye before it had the chance to fall. Calleigh just wanted it to be over. For someone to tell her what happened. She squinted her eyes shut for a moment and felt the pain in her head grow.

"Ms. Duquense, we're going to get you some pain medication for your head, we just need to finish up on some quick tests and then we'll let you be for a while. Does that sound alright?" The bright faced doctor asked. Calleigh looked back up at Eric who nodded back to her. She tried to reply but her throat felt dry and pained.

"Your throat is going to be sore for a little while, it's from the breathing apparatus we used with you during surgery" the brunette doctor said calmly while pouring Calleigh some water.

"Surgery?" Calleigh forced out. Her voice so raspy that it was almost not audible. Eric gave her hand a squeeze.

"Could we have a moment?" Eric asked as he gestured towards Calleigh. The doctor nodded and ducked out of the room momentarily with the other doctor and nurse. "Cal, remember the accident?" Eric asked softly, Calleigh nodded with a confused look on her face. "Well, it seems like during the accident, you might have hurt yourself more than you though… more than any of us thought. You collapsed at work, you remember that part right?" Eric prodded. Calleigh made a so-so notion with her hand. Eric nodded, he expected at least some of her memory to be fuzzy. "They brought you here and discovered that there was some bleeding in your brain, they fixed it! You're okay now. But that was the surgery, they said it was minor so recovery shouldn't be that long!" Eric rushed out the last part as he could see that there was worry in her face at the mention of brain surgery.

He watched as she slowly lifted her hand up to her head to feel the small patch on the back that was covered in gauze wrapping. She closed her eyes again to try and get a grip on the situation.

"But you're okay now, the hard part is over!" Eric reassured her as he nodded at the doctor through the window to come back in. Calleigh nodded and tried to keep it together and comply with them while they asked her questions and poked at different parts of her body for a reaction. Eric saw Horatio jogging to approach the room through the window. "Cal, I'm going to be right outside of the room okay? I'll be right back" Eric said.

"Okay" Calleigh mouthed in her attempt to speak. It came out as more of a croak but it was enough to earn a small smile out of her. She needed it too. Eric smiled back at her and quickly left the room.

"She's doing great so far, better than expected. At least that's what I heard them saying when they were evaluating her!" Eric said while looking at the ground. It all honestly seemed too good to be true. Horatio smiled as he looked through the window as she appeared with a scrunched face pushing away the nurses hand with the flashlight. One thing she will never be is cooperative.

"She's a special one, that's for sure" Horatio said while shaking his head out how difficult she was being even after all that she had been through. "Eric, we need to talk about Bryan" Horatio spoke softly. And just like that Eric was yanked from his peaceful place and brought exactly back to where he didn't want to be.

"What's there to talk about?" Eric asked as he turned and shoved his hands deep into his pockets.

"He's got Elisia Vega working his case…" Horatio stated flatly. That was one name that everyone knew. Elisia Vega was one of the best lawyers in Florida and boy did she know it. She only took cases that involved law enforcement and nobody knew how she ever got ahold of the cases as quickly as she did. But there she was. Horatio didn't even need to elaborate. Vega working the case meant Bryan was likely out of their custody.

"So now what do we do?" Eric asked. Horatio turned and looked to Calleigh.

"We get her to testify, and we keep her safe" Horatio said as he smiled at the doctors and nurse as the left her room. Eric tried his hardest to hide the anger he was feelings in his chest and started to head back into her room with Horatio.

"Hey there, how are you feeling?" Horatio said while he leaned over and gently hugged Calleigh. She reached over and drank some water. "Been better" She said. She was trying to keep her sentences small as her throat was still not feeling great. Horatio smiled and they looked over to Eric who looked down at the ground. He didn't want to have this conversation right now but he knew given the circumstances there was no waiting. "We need you to testify against Bryan when you are able to leave the hospital. I know this seems quick and it might be overwhelming but otherwise he will likely get off" Horatio explained calmly. Calleigh stared back at him with a face of pure confusion.

"Who is Bryan?" She said with a completely straight face. She looked back and forth between Eric and Horatio, searching their faces for an answer to her question. Eric rubbed his hands over his face. Horatio didn't know how exactly to respond to this, this wasn't what either of them had expected.

"Do you remember the case?" Horatio tried. Calleigh nodded and smiled.

"The one I worked with Natalia?" Calleigh said with a slight chuckle which sent her into a fit of coughs. Eric got her water and handed it to her to help. Horatio thought for a moment how this was going to work when she didn't remember the case at all.

"You remember the accident right Cal?" Eric tried. Calleigh nodded and looked at him waiting for him to get to the point. She didn't understand anything of this conversation. "Do you remember who was driving?" Eric finally said. Calleigh stopped for a moment. She had never even thought that into detail about it. She remembered getting out of the car and feeling light headed. She squinted her eyes shut for a moment and thought as hard as she could.

"A man? With a gun? I don't know Eric it's all fuzzy" she said. She was growing more and more irritated with herself for not being able to remember everything.

"That's alright Calleigh, that was enough" Horatio said as he got up to leave. They needed to work on a new way of getting Bryan. "I'll be sending and officer up here to watch the room" Horatio said quietly to Eric as he left. "I'll come back with the team tomorrow to check in okay?" He said to Calleigh, she smiled and nodded. Eric pulled the same chair back up to the side of her bed.

"Who was in the car?" She said seriously as she looked at him. Eric sighed.

"Calleigh you should rest" He tried.

"Who was in the car." She said again. This time it sounded more like a demand.

Eric looked down at his hands debating if he should start, but she deserved to know information that she had known before at one point. "Our perp. You went with him as a sort of a hostage. You were trying to protect one of our victims" Eric started. He was careful to leave out certain information like names and descriptions so that he wouldn't influence what she remembered and what she thought she remembered. Before Eric could continue there was suddenly a loud disturbance in the hallway. Medical terms being shouted left and right. Finally a group of EMT's passed Calleigh's room with a man strapped down to a gurney that they were rushing past her room. Calleigh raised a hand to point out at the disturbance.

"Him. He was the one" She said quietly. Eric didn't need her confirmation to know exactly who that was. The real question however, was how and why he got here…

 **You guys know the drill! Let me know what you think about this chapter! Some pushers to keep you guessing: Why is Bryan in the hospital so soon after his arrest? When is Calleigh going to be released? And most importantly, WHEN ARE ERIC AND CALLEIGH FINALLY GOING TO GET INTERESTING?! All coming next :)**


	13. Chapter 13

Eric picked up his phone in the middle of the first ring knowing that it was someone from the lab. "Yes, he's here" Eric stated while he closed the glass door to Calleigh's room unsure of what was happening. Natalia sighed on the other line.

"It's not him that were worried about right now" she started. "It's Rose". Eric thought for a moment thinking that somehow Rose had been hurt and that Bryan was injured by officers on duty. But it didn't make sense, Bryan was released and Rose and the kids should have been in custody still.

"Where is she?" Eric stated plainly as he looked back at Calleigh who was watching him with a confused look on her face.

"We released her! We got the info we needed and we asked her to stay but he refused. She said she had enough with the drama for the day and just wanted to be with her kids" Natalia tried to calmly explain. Eric felt his face heat up in anger. This was not how things should be going. Eric stepped outside the room and closed the door behind him. Calleigh rolled her eyes. She knew he wasn't going to let her in on whatever it was they were discussing.

"How could you guys let her go!" Eric hissed under his breath. Natalia could practically he heard clenching her fists at Eric's attitude.

"You think we wanted to let her leave? She has rights Eric! And we tried! More importantly, as far as we know she's fine!" Natalia barked back at him. Eric took a breath and looked at the ceiling. Getting angry over a poor situation and taking it out on a coworker was not the way to go.

"So why am I getting this call, what is the new info?" Eric said calmly. Natalia smirked on the other line, she knew Eric had finally stopped with the attitude.

"We think she is the one the attacked him" Natalia started. "We put a BOLO out on her car and haven't found it yet, the house and hotel are empty and Louise hasn't heard anything. We think she fled" Natalia finished. Eric pinched his nose trying to wrap his head around everything.

"And where is Vega?" Eric asked. Before Natalia could even get the words out of her mouth the sound of high heels clicking down the hallway interrupted his thoughts. The sound he was used to hearing from Calleigh or Natalia. He turned to see the one and only, Elisia Vega walking towards him. Eric hung up the phone before another word could be said regarding the case.

"You must be Eric Delco?" She said with a devilish smirk. She reached out a hand to shake his and he immediately dug both his hands into his pockets. She looked down at her rejected hand and chuckled. "Ah, I see, you must of heard of me?" She said in a sultry voice, he brown wavy hair cascading over her shoulder. Eric grimaced at her.

"Not anything positive" he said in disgust. She took pride in fighting for criminals who harmed or killed the men and women protecting Miami. She smiled at his response and took a step forward towards him, "we could make great acquaintances you know, work a case together every now and again" she said as she took a step closer. Somehow in that time Calleigh had managed not only to get out of bed, but to slide open the glass door. She leaned against the door frame and smiled with her emerald greens sparkling.

"Sweet heart, I just don't think you're his cup of tea" Calleigh said with her southern draw thick. Eric turned around to look at the petite blonde who was clearly holding onto the door with all her strength but still stood with a mischievous smile on her face. There truly was no stopping her. "And I'm not just referring to the fact that you're a criminal supporter" Calleigh continued. Eric tried to hide the smirk that was welling up inside him, Calleigh was by far one of the sassiest human beings he had ever come across. Vega stood with her arms crossed. Eric placed an arm around Calleighs waist to help her back to her bed.

"If you'll excuse us" Eric said with a mocking smile. He turned and began sliding the glass door shut.

"Maybe try another tactic to get your information next time" Calleigh called after her as Eric shut the door. Elisia gave Calleigh a tight smile and waved as she turned her back and walked in the direction that Bryan had previously be wheeled to earlier. Eric finally got the fire cracker blonde back the her bed. He tried to help her get on to it before she slapped his hand away.

"Oh please, I think I can sit on my own" she said with a mock angry tone. Eric just stood and watched her with his hands on his hips as she sat her small figure onto the bed and tried to rearrange some of her wires that she had tangled around her monitor on the walk to the door.

Once she finally got settled Eric pulled a blanket back up over her. She gave him a gentle smile as a 'thank you' since she would never say it herself. "So, they brought in Vega for me? Must mean I'm finally a big deal in Miami huh?" Calleigh joked. Eric shook his head. How is it she could still have such a sense of humor at a time like this.

"We don't need to worry about it, they don't stand a chance" Eric assured. Just as he finished there was a gentle knock on the door. They both turned to see Alexx who gave them a warm smile and entered.

"Hey baby, how are we feeling" she asked as she glided across the room and sat on the edge of Calleigh's bed.

"Not horrible. When do I leave?" Calleigh said like an excited child on Christmas. Eric rolled his eyes and slouched back in his chair.

"I'm gonna say a week at LEAST" Alexx started. Calleigh stared at the ceiling, she honestly knew she'd be here a while. "I am not even your doctor so who really knows, but they'll need to keep your for observation and to make sure everything is alright" Alexx continued. Calleigh looked back at her with a smirk. "No I will not be putting in any words for you Ms. Duqunse" Alexx said with a laugh. She didn't even need to hear Calleigh ask. "Now, I'm going to actually get back to the lab, work doesn't stop just because I do! I'll stop by tomorrow alright?" Alexx said with a smile as she got up.

"I'll hold you to it" Calleigh said back with a smile in return. Alexx squeezed Eric's hand and left the room again. Eric kept fiddling with his phone, likely texting the lab and keeping up with everyone.

"You don't need to stay you know? I'm sure they could use you back at the lab" Calleigh said without looking directly at him. She was instead more interested in detangling one of her wires. Eric looked up at her with a face that read "are you kidding me?".

"I think I'm good here" he said back with a chuckle in his voice. He watched as she continued to fiddle with her cords. She only did things like that when something was bothering her.

"You know what's crazy about everything that happened?" She said simply while she finally worked one of the kinks out. Eric just watched, waiting for her response. She finally put the wires and cords down.

"You were the last one I saw when it started, and the first I saw when I woke" She said quietly. She finally looked up to check his face for some type of reaction. Eric grabbed his chair and sat it directly next to the side of her bed and took one of her hands in both of his.

"And the worst part was, my biggest fear through it all, it wasn't dying, it was not getting to see you again". She finished. Eric raised her hand and kissed it. Calleigh gave out a quiet laugh and looked to the ceiling to try and hide her embarrassment. She didn't know why she was saying all of this but the more she spoke, the less weight she felt on her shoulders. "This is all so silly" She mumbled with another laugh as she turned to look to the window on the other side of the room. Eric got up from his chair to sit next to Calleigh on her bed. He raised his hand again and cupped her face in his hand to turn her to look at him.

"It's not silly. It means something. Something to me at least". He said quietly as he pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, on the side that didn't have a bandage covering it. She couldn't help but feel at home with him. She closed her eyes for a moment and tried to forget about all of the circumstances surrounding them right now, all of the bad and harmful things in both of their lives, and to just take in the one good thing she had in front of her.

Eric felt his phone buzz against his leg and squinted his eyes shut. It was his time to trade shifts. Ryan was coming in next to watch over Calleigh for the next hour or so. Not for medical reasons, but the fact that she was the only suspect and that their perp and her attacker were in the same building called for some added security.

"Calleigh -" Eric started as he rubbed a thumb over her face. She looked so at peace. Eric almost didn't want to have to leave. She had been through so much as it was. "You mean so, so much to me, and one day I'm gonna show that to you" He finished as he stood up off the bed. He leant over and placed a kiss on her forehead. "So that means you need to stick around okay?" He said as he back up towards the door with a smile. Calleigh rolled her eyes and chuckled. "No more jumping in front of bullets or running into burning buildings? For just a little while at least?" He said as he opened the door. Calleigh finally burst into a fit of laughter that forced a toothy smile across Eric's face as well. "I'll be back later okay?" He finally said as he began to close the door behind him. Calleigh nodded with a smile. One good thing. She had one good thing. And that was going to have to be enough to get her through this.

 **AHHH please don't hate me for taking so long! I had midterms and a million assignments due and I'm graduating in the summer so I'm in a huge rush to get everything done and I'm sorry! I hope this chapter was good for you guys! I wanted to get a little EC in there but not any of the good real romance yet! That stuff will come later and over time! So leave me your comments, concerns, questions, and cheers in the reviews! Love you guys!**


	14. Chapter 14

Ryan knocked lightly on the glass door before entering Calleigh's room. She gave him a wave and he entered and pulled up the chair Eric was previously sitting in. "I brought you some light reading, I read online that it's beneficial for those who have had brain surgery. Then again I read that on wikipedia so who really knows… BUT I don't think you ever really got to finish this up" Ryan explained nervously as he handed her the gun magazine she had been looking at about a week ago when they had initially started the case. Calleigh chuckled lightly and took the booklet from his hands and looked at the cover. The first time she looked at it in the break room at the lab came rushing back to her as vivid as the day itself. Calleigh scrunched her eyebrows for a moment. "Something wrong? I swore this was the same one" Ryan said with a laugh, thinking that Calleigh wasn't happy with the magazine he had brought her.

"Why am I just now remembering this case…" Calleigh said as she looked at Ryan with confusion. Ryan didn't exactly know what to say to her. He didn't honestly have an answer. "The two girls and the parents… I remember this now" She started with a small smile on her face. "Where is the case? You have to have it on you, You ALWAYS carry the cases with you incase you think of something" Calleigh prodded. Ryan looked at her strangely for a moment. Leave it to Calleigh to regain memory within the day of getting surgery. Calleigh shoved her hand forward gesturing for the file she was dying to get her hands on. Getting memory back was the most empowering feeling and she didn't want to stop. She hated the way Eric and Horatio looked at her when she said she didn't know what they were talking about. She hated it. And now that she was starting to remember there was going to be no stopping her.

Ryan handed her the updated version of the file and Calleigh rapidly began flipping through the pages. Skipping over anything that wasn't a picture. She finally got to the family records and saw Daisy. Calleigh stopped for a moment and ran a finger over her face. "She was in the car… is she-" Calleigh started.

"Yes, she came out perfectly fine miraculously. With the amount of damage done to the care and with how delicate she is as a child it doesn't really make sense" Ryan explained. Calleigh nodded. She didn't remember that part, she just knew she was in the car with her. She continued flipping until she saw the photos of scorched and decomposed husband. She flashed back to finding him herself. She squinted her face for a moment, it was almost as though she could smell what she smelt that day.

"I remember bits and pieces.." Calleigh started as she continued flipping until she got to Bryan. She froze completely. There was his mug shot, along with his DNA, the flipped car in the median. Calleigh just stared in dismay. She did remember. The second she saw his face in the photo she instantly went back to when he turned and face the gun at her. Seeing her life flashing before her eyes for a quick moment. Ryan slowly removed the file off her lap.

"Maybe we continue this on another day" Ryan said calmly. Calleigh turned her head to look at him and he saw the glimmer in her eye that he only saw when she was about to bust a perp.

"He is here, and I remember what he did" She said with a completely straight face. Ryan nodded.

"I'll call our lawyer" Ryan said simply as he got up and began dialing while heading out the door to her room.

The lawyer stopped by later that day and got as much information out of Calleigh as he could. Any detail she remembered from that day and from the case in general. He needed it to match up to what statements were received from Eric and Horatio the day of the incident. Most importantly though, to make sure it matched what Calleigh initially said on that day. Natalia stopped by a few hours later for her shift. Calleigh stayed up for a little while and they chatted, it was mostly uneventful since the rest of the time Calleigh was sleeping. Things went similar to that for the next two day. Rotating in personnel from the lab, small talk, laughs. But still no word on Bryan and what his condition was.

Eric took his typical position in the chair next to Calleigh's bed. "I hear you get to have that bandage off today!" Eric said with a smile, knowing it was something she was looking forward to. Calleigh's incision was fairly small so it didn't seem necessary to keep it on now that the swelling was down and her stitches were holding. Calleigh smiled.

"It's about time, I finally get to see the damage" Calleigh said while gently patting where the bandage was. Alexx and the nurses must have reassured her a thousand times that the hair they shaved was a small amount and it was in the back, easily covered by more of her hair. Eric rolled his eyes.

"You won't even notice" He said as he pushed her fly away hairs behind her ear. Things had been calm again. Luckily, they hadn't heard much from Vega, or really any update on the case at all. He knew soon enough things would blow up again, but it was nice having this time, while it lasted. And just as quickly as the thought crossed his mind, it was gone with the sound of a knock on the glass. Natalia peeped her head into the room and offered a tight smile.

"Bryan is conscious.. The hearing is scheduled for a week from now" Natalia said with a bland tone. Eric raised his eyebrows, waiting for the other shoe to drop. "We still haven't heard from Rose, and Bryan has been discharged…" She finished.

 **OKAY GUYS! I know this is was short and you waited a long time for it and I'm really sorry. I know that was super lame of me. It's finals week and I am working super hard on getting everything done on time so I can graduate this summer! Longer and better chapter to come I promise.**


	15. Chapter 15

"What the hell do you mean 'we don't know where he is'"? Eric practically yelled. The team (minus Calleigh) stood around Horatio's desk. Natalia turned around and paced. This was all absurd. Calleigh had finally been released from the hospital after a week and a half and things were starting to look up. Days had gone by now that almost seemed pointless. There was still no word from Rose or the children and the court date was set for tomorrow.

"Vega has made some type of deal with a judge saying that Bryan doesn't feel safe or stable with us knowing his whereabouts. It isn't good for his healing. They're still held under oath to remain in Miami. They just aren't required to disclose any other information to us until the trial date". Horatio's finished while looking down at his file. The room was silent. The chances of him actually trying anything against the team was highly unlikely, but the fact that the man who is responsible for all of these horrible crimes, including hurting one of their own, gets to walk around freely until trial is ridiculous.

"And there's nothing we can do...?" Ryan said quietly. Horatio just shook his head silently. Eric rolled his eyes and threw himself down into the chair against the wall of the office.

"It is of our best interest to keep working on finding more things to pin against him when the trial comes up" Horatio said as he looked up at the team. This wasn't either for any of them, but they needed to keep busy.

Eric got up and started to walk out of the office. "Eric-" Ryan started, in attempt to get him to be level headed. Eric turned around and looked at the three of them.

"Are you going to help me bulk up this case or not?" He said with relatively straight face, but something glimmered in his eye that was almost dark. They were Miami's best, if they wanted someone put away for life, they knew how to do it. Natalia got up without saying a word and left the office behind Eric, immediately followed by Ryan. Horatio leaned back in his chair when the door had finally closed and picked up his phone.

"Hey Alexx, how's she doing?" He started

 **XXXXXXX**

Bryan pulled at his hair and squinted his eyes. "You know you screwed up right?" Vega said to him as she glided across the kitchen, her heels clicking along the tile floor, almost taunting Bryan for all he had done wrong. He gritted his teeth. He just wanted time alone without this woman telling him all of his wrongs. She grabbed an apple off the counter and leaned back as she took a bite. "I mean, granted I am the best lawyer around, you still screwed up" she said confidently. Bryan erupted into a yell as he got up and threw his chair across the room, it smashed into several wooden pieces as is collided with the refrigerator. Vega jumped a bit and dropped the apple.

"I want you out, I want time to MYSELF!" He yelled. Vega composed herself and brushed her hands off on her designer skirt.

"You know I can't leave you alone, breaks the deal we made" she stated calmly.

"Then I'll leave!" He yelled back at her as he walked towards the back door at the end of the kitchen. She felt herself growing agitated. She should have never taken on this case.

"You're going to turn this whole case to shit!" She hissed. He stopped in his tracks. She was right. All he wanted was to be with Rose, and that couldn't happen if he made things worse... Or maybe it could... He paused as the millions of ideas spun through his head like lightning fused tornado. A wicked plan brewing. He turned around on his heel and looked at her.

"I'm going to go upstairs and make a phone call. I want five minutes" he said with a suddenly innocent face. She paused for a moment. She had read in his file that he was bipolar and knew she shouldn't push it an further. She crossed her arm so we her chest.

"You can't make phone calls" she said firmly, "you cannot-" she tried to explain until Bryan cut her off.

"Disclose information about the case. I know, but I just want to talk to my friend okay, I don't have any family and I just want to ask how he's doing, you know? Talk to someone that doesn't think I'm this horrible person, just talk about something other than myself..." He looked down at his hands that were still bruised, one of his arms still wrapped up. Vega felt for him... He was a criminal of course, but he still had feelings. And that was where she made her first mistake...

"Five minutes" she said seriously. She handed him his cell phone back. He nodded his head as to thank her. And walked away slowly until he could shut a door behind him. A warm feeling spread over his body and a crooked smile across his face. He dialed and listened to two rings until the person on the other line picked up.

"You're all over the news you idiot, what the hell were you thinking?!" The man yelled. Bryan rolled his eyes and let him lecture.

"I have a plan, and it'll fix everything. I'll pay you back, I just need your help to get it done" Bryan said calmly. The man on the other line was silent for a little while..

"What do you think is going to get you out of this..?" Bryan smiled to himself, he got him on the hook.

"I can't get out of my charges with Rose yah know, but they won't be too bad. But the cop offense.." Bryan started.

"Yeah you idiot why do you think I'm so mad?! That was stupid of you! You know better! Nobody would do that in their right mind Bryan! And what? Now it's my job to bail you out of something again..." The man ranted. He seemed frantic, as though this was a scenario he had dealt with before. Bryan let the empty pause hold for a moment.

"If the cop is gone, there is nobody to really testify, and no cop charges would be able to hold" Bryan said quietly. The man on the other line was quiet for a moment.

"You want me to kill some cop?!" He hissed into the phone.

"No, I want you to hire someone to do it" Bryan hissed back. Their banter almost familiar. There was an audible sigh from the other line. Bryan heard a knock at the door. Vega. He quickly walked to the farthest corner of the room and whispered "Her name is something Duqense, she's short and blonde. My trial is tomorrow. Get it done if I mean anything to you" Bryan rushed in a whisper as he quickly hung up and then deleted the phone call history. He rushed back over and opened the door and handed her the phone. "Thank you" Bryan said quietly as he walked passed her and headed towards the living room. A dangerous smile began to spread across his face as he walked to the couch. This might just work...

 **XXXXXX**

Calleigh paced the room. They had finally got her caught up on everything and just as she was working on her statement for the trial tomorrow she got the call about Bryan. She took it fairly well, probably the best out of everyone on the team. She was worried that something could happen.. But Bryan vendetta wasn't against her, she was just in the crossfire. The chances that he would attempt something against her was slim to none. She hung up the phone politely and went back to work with Alexx on working on her statement. And that's how they got here. Alexx stumped her. She had been asking questions that Vega or the judge may ask to prepare Calleigh for the trial. It wasn't her first trial either, and Calleigh was great in court. She was strong, confident, and demanding. But something about this case felt different, as if something more were on the line.

"It doesn't feel right, something isn't right, I can feel it" Calleigh said while staring at the ceiling, trying to put her finger on it. Alexx got up from her chair and put a hand on Calleigh's shoulder.

"I know this is all crazy and happening fast, but it'll get better after this passes. Everything is right here!" Alexx tried, in efforts to calm Calleigh. Calleigh placed the palm of her hand on her forehead.

"I can't explain it. But something is off. I don't know. Run it again?" Calleigh asked. Alexx smiled and sat back down in her seat. "Tell us what you know about Bryan" Alexx started. Calleigh wiped her hand off on her pants and began. She knew her statement was solid, and that he would get put away. But the feeling wouldn't stop irking so she worked on this to avoid thinking about it. She was spending the night with Alexx and then Eric was to be by to pick her up tomorrow for the trial. They would meet the rest of the team there, but for safety reasons, keeping Calleigh somewhere people wouldn't think to look was just procedure.

Hours had gone by at this point. Calleigh looked at her phone , "2:32" was the time that glowed brightly in the dark room. She couldn't sleep. Alexx had been great, keeping her company, running her statement, even making diner. It had been hours and Calleigh couldn't sleep even if she tried. That feeling was still there. That something wasn't right in the plot of it all. If she closed her eyes for too long she would see the way Bryan looked at her with a gun pointed at her skull. It was haunting. She had had many guns pointed at her in her career and none shook her quite like that one had. She clicked her phone again "2:34". Calleigh sighed and rolled her head back. She sat up and sent a blank email to Eric. No subject, no text. It was something they did, to see if the other person was busy. The two of them, as do many people, keep their notifications off for new emails, it would just silently show up on their lock screen. If you happened to see it, you were available, but not bothered. Calleigh hit send and rolled over on the couch.

 _ **Bzzz bzzzz**_

Delco: "Can't sleep?" Her screen lit up. Calleigh smiled and unlocked her screen to reply.

"And why are you awake?" She typed. Her screen showed that he was typing before she could even exit the message.

Delco: Not exactly in the coziest sleeping quarters". Calleigh raised an eyebrow at the text. "I've been parked outside since 12, you didn't actually think I'd trust a random police officer over myself?" The second text read. Calleigh felt herself blush and held the phone to her chest. It was typical of him, and it's true, he would always rather do something himself. She got up off the couch and peeked through the blinds. She couldn't see much other than the gleam off the Hummer parked on the curb. She rolled her eyes as she slipped on her flip flops and carefully opened the door and walked to the vehicle. Once she got close she could make out Eric's smirking face as he leaned over the armrest and pushed the passenger side door open.

As soon as she opened it and locked eyes with him she felt at rest. There was something about being in his presence that held her together. She was a strong person, and very independent. She didn't _need_ anyone. But there was something about being around him that kept her strong, kept her confident, and kept her ... okay.

She grabbed onto the safety handle and pulled herself into the Hummer as she usually did, then turned herself in her seat to face him. He placed a hand on the side of her face and rubbed his thumb across her cheek. Calleigh reached up and put her hand over his. He offered her a gentle smile, which she was greeted by when she reopened her eyes. "Only a few more hours, and then all of this is over" He said quietly. He knew that this case was different for her. It was different for all of them. They've had hostages, kidnappings, and bullet wounds all before. Calleigh had been on death row this time, they hadn't been that close to losing someone in a long time, not since Eric got shot…

Calleigh sighed gently and relaxed her back against the chair and looked out the windshield. He was right. Just a few more hours She just had to tough it out through that trial and then everything would be okay. Things would settle out, her and Eric could finally talk, Calleigh could get back to work. . .

"Where'd you go querida?" Eric asked softly, he didn't want to disturb her. She seemed to be lost in her thoughts bout in a peaceful way. It was likely the only type of 'rest' she had gotten all week. Calleigh blinked a few times.

"Just thinking of how everything is going to change when all of this is over, when things finally settle" Calleigh answered with an exhale. Eric reached over and grabbed one of her hands with his own and kissed the top of it.

"Just a few more hours Cal" He said, and that was the last things she heard before she finally drifted off into sleep. Granted it was in the passenger seat of Eric's car, she slept well. Eric didn't have the heart to wake her, the bags under her eyes told the truth about how much sleep she had been getting. She woke a few hours later to the Hummer moving. She squinted her eyes and rubbed at her neck. Sore.

"Didn't want to wake you, we're heading back to your place, figured you would want some time to get ready" Eric explained. "And yes, I let Alexx know that I had you". Calleigh looked at the clock, 9 AM. Did she sleep in the car? Eric looked over at her and couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at the confusion on her face. She looked so sleepy, it was adorable. He could never comment on that though, not unless he wanted a hard slap across the face.

"Thank you" She said as she readjusted herself in the seat into a sitting position as she pulled down the mirror to look at herself. Eric nodded back at her as a way to to her thanks. Something that didn't need thanking. He would do anything for her in a heartbeat, and he knew she would do the same. A few minutes later of driving in silence they arrived at her place. Nothing out of the ordinary but Eric still took his time to get her door with on hand on his holstered gun the entire time. Calleigh hopped out of the Hummer and began the walk to her front door. It was hard not to feel self conscious. It still felt off and she still hadn't figured out why. She walked behind Eric as he walked up to her door and looked around. Everything was in place. Calleigh smiled as she walked passed him and used her key to unlock the door. Eric himself had a key to her place, as she had to his. Just in case of emergency. They were each other's ICE contact as well. They never really thought much of it. Eric thought about it before using his key, he'd only had to use it once. He thought about it over in his head while she unlocked the door. It was almost a year ago when she had called saying she needed help and they she wouldn't be able to get the door so he needed to use his key. Eric in a panic rushed over and got in as quickly as he could only to find Calleigh on her kitchen counter, soaking wet, with both her hands over the spout that was still spraying out water. He almost immediately burst into uncontrollable laughter. He'd bring it up later after the trial to keep her in good spirits. He watched as Calleigh walked straight back into her room. Eric plopped down on the couch. Being able to stretch out his legs felt good. He ran back out to his Hummer realizing he had forgotten his change of clothes. As he shut the trunk to the Hummer he got an odd feeling… He looked around the surrounding area for a short while and returned back into the house with his suit in hand.

30 minutes later Calleigh arrived from her room dressed in a simple suit. She wore a plain grey button up blouse with high waisted black slacks. She pushed her hair up into a high ponytail and put on a simple pair of black heels. She was still slightly bruised in the face but left it untouched. She would not hide what had happened. She eventually emerged and looked at Eric straightly. This was it. Eric nodded at her and reopened her front door and escorted her to the car again. This was the day, this was the trial.

 **FRIENDS! I really hope you enjoyed this chapter! You guys have been such great followers of this story and always leave me such sweet reviews. I love hearing about how much you guys enjoy it or when you specifically like one section! It's great to know that people out there enjoy my work! So as always, let me know what you thought! And what's going to happen next?**


	16. Chapter 16

Calleigh sat silently in the passenger seat of the car as she watched the street signs pass by. She must have tightened her ponytail five times in the past 10 minutes. A nervous tick. Eric hadn't seen her like this before. He let the ride stay silent, he knew she didn't feel right about. He reached over and grabbed her hand that was laying motionless on her leg and gave it a squeeze. Calleigh could see the courthouse in the distance along with two other Hummers and at least three news crews. This case was a big deal. She felt the feeling in her chest grow stronger. It didn't feel right. She squeezed Eric's hand tightly without saying a word. She watched as the news casters spoke into the camera's lens with such a serious face you almost couldn't look away. Before she knew it the Hummer was in park.

"Cal, it's time" Eric said flattly. Calleigh nodded and took a deep breath. Eric got out of the car as Horatio, Natalia, and Ryan came to meet up with their teammate. Horatio opened the passenger side door and helped Calleigh out. She looked around at them all. She was okay, everything would be fine. Everyone was here. Calleigh nodded again and they began walking towards the steps to the courthouse. Only moments later did a second car pull up and the flashes and roars of newscasters grow. The lights and sounds were overwhelming. Calleigh turned around to see that it was Bryan's car. He and Vega stepped out being swarmed by photographers and news personalities yelling questions and assumptions at him and Vega about the case. Ryan and Natalia continued up towards the steps with Horatio behind him. "Come on" Eric said gently as he placed a hand on Calleigh's lower back, leading her towards the steps. But the feeling was overpowering now. Calleigh took a few steps forward before stopping in her tracks.

"Something isn't right, I need someone to hear me out" She said in a hushed tone. Eric couldn't help but listen to her. If anyone had a dependable gut feeling it was Calleigh. Eric took one look at the expression on her face and placed a hand on his holstered weapon and looked around. Nothing. Horatio had caught on that the two weren't following and turned around to see what was holding them up. Upon seeing Eric with a hand on his weapon Horatio looked around as well. He looked to Bryan and saw the wicked smile on his face as he looked into the distance. Horatio turned his gaze to where he was looking and immediately spotted a man up on the side of the courthouse with a sniper's gun.

"GET DOWN!" Horatio shouted at the exact moment that the sniper fired. Ryan stepped in front of Natalia with his gun drawn and followed where Horatio was pointing. Eric grabbed Calleigh around the waist with one arm and pulled her to his chest as he turned his back to the shooter. Everything after that was a blur. Seconds that went by of flashing noises, screams, gun shoots and shells hitting the ground. Calleigh's ears rung ferociously. She finally opened her eyes when the noise came settled. "TEAM?" Horatio yelled out.

"Good over here" Ryan called out from the steps. "Good!" Natalia yelled from the bottom of the steps as she crouched by a group of camera men with her gun drawn still. Eric had Calleigh pinned up against the Hummer. He turned her around and looked at her face. She was okay. "We're good over here H" Eric yelled out. He winced. As soon as he yelled though he felt a burning pain in his side. He went to touch it but Calleigh had already grabbed the bleeding wound on his side.

"Sit down, it's just a through and through" She said to him as calm as she could. She only knew that because she felt the same bullet graze her waist. Eric looked at her straightly and followed directions. He sat down carefully on the curb as she sat with him, keeping her hand pressed tightly to both his back and his stomach area. It was far off to the side, and by the way he was responding it was unlikely the bullet had hit any major organs.

"Paramedics!" Natalia yelled as she ran over to the two of them. Natalia removed her jacket and wadded it up into a ball as she put it onto Eric's back Natalia kneeled behind him and took over applying pressure to that side of him. Calleigh smiled at him as she lifted her other hand and used it to apply more pressure to his stomach.

"I thought we had a deal about this" Calleigh said with a smile, trying to keep him calm. She watched out of the corner of her eye as Horatio and Ryan ran up the side of the courthouse to where she saw a seemingly lifeless body lay. Eric gave her a smile back.

"The deal was that YOU wouldn't get hurt anymore" Eric said with a chuckle, he pinched his eyes shut as the laugh sent another wave of pain through his body. Natalia laughed as she repositioned her hands on his back. "Hey Nat, how are things with you and Ryan by the way?" Eric asked through gritted teeth. He knew at this point he could get away with anything. Natalia rolled her eyes.

"Delko, you do know I am controlling your bleeding right now right?" Eric smiled. He was starting to feel a little light headed. Calleigh began to grow more concerned as he grew more pale in the face. Soon enough a set of EMT's pulled up with a gurney and began to take over holding pressure as they loaded him onto the moving bed. As they sat him up he saw the bleeding through Calleigh shirt.

"Hey! Calleigh! You're bleeding!" He exclaimed, trying to get the attention of anyone around him. Calleigh looked down at her shirt, there was a little more blood than she had originally anticipated. One of the EMT's started towards her. She quickly put her hand up.

"The bullet just grazed me" Calleigh said as she watched Eric get an IV put into his arm.

"Well regardless, we can at least take you with us" The EMT argued. Calleigh looked over to Natalia who nodded that Calleigh should be going. Calleigh looked up into the sky. The sun was finally peeking through the clouds. She turned again and watched as Horatio and Ryan dragged the shooter down the hill, he was apparently still conscious regardless of the blood that drenched his clothes, she finally looked passed the crowd to see officers putting Bryan back into cuffs and shoving him into a car against the protests of Vega. It was obvious he had involvement in the shooting. Natalia touched Calleigh's shoulder.

"Go get looked at, stay with Eric. We got this now" She said softly. Calleigh gave a small smile as one of the extra EMT's applied gauze to Calleigh's side with a gloved hand. Calleigh turned to him and placed her own hand over the wound. The pressure felt nice she had to admit. Calleigh took a deep breath and boarded the ambulance. Natalia patted the back of it and smiled as she watched it pull away, the second it was out of sight her grimace returned to her face quickly. Horatio and Ryan were loading the bloodied man onto another stretched and she took that as her opportunity.

"H!" She yelled out. Horatio turned her way. She gestured towards the police car that was driving away and he nodded. Natalia pulled herself into the Hummer that she and Ryan had arrived in and drove off behind the police vehicle holding Bryan. Today was not going to be his day.

Ryan helped Horatio lug the shooters practically lifeless body to the stretcher and watched in disgust as they rushed to wheel him into an ambulance. He didn't deserve all of the attention they were giving them. Any person that tried to attack the team deserved the worst service. Ryan was quickly pulled from his thoughts. "Ryan, I know we didn't prepare for a crime scene today, but now we have one. Worry about your statement later, for now, call in the night team and get them here to process what they can salvage. Let's get this done quickly" Horatio said as removed his jacket that now had blood smeared entirely down the side. He grimaced at the sight. Such a criminal.

Ryan nodded as he spun on a heel and removed his phone, quickly calling the lab to get them to send in the night team. Horatio put his hands on his hips and looked at the scene. The _scene_. That is not how today was supposed to go. Today was supposed to be the end of it all, and instead it's just reopened more wounds…

 **I know that a lot of you were really nervous about this chapter so I hope I didn't upset anyone! Certainly more to come my friends! I made a note about this on my other story which (as I noted on that one) you totally do not need to read.**

" **I work at a preschool and today there was a shooter that killed two people and injured two more at a mall only a few miles away from us and we had to go into lock down. It was one of the scariest moments of my life. Not because I was scared for myself, but because I was scared for the kids. Life is so precious. The shooter was captured and everyone was fine at the end of the day but it's just a little reminder to appreciate each day you have on this Earth. Thanks for taking the time to read this is you did. I appreciate each and every one of you guys! Have a great day or night 3"**


	17. Chapter 17

Calleigh gently rubbed at the stitches on the side of her head that was covered by her hair. It didn't make sense. This was not what she signed up for. Or was it? She leaned her head against the back wall of the hospital room. They took Eric back to clean his wound and decide how they wanted to close it up, leaving Calleigh sitting in his room at the hospital. Her side only took a few stitches. They had offered her some pain medication which she gladly accepted. She had been sitting there for almost an hour now. She look down at her hands and saw that some of Eric's blood was still stained under her nails. It made her stomach turn. She got up and walked into the bathroom to scrub it out in the sink. She turned the water off and looked up for a moment, a moment long enough to catch her reflection. She hadn't really looked at herself in days unless it was a quick check of her appearance. She wore a scrub t-shirt since her other shirt had been coated in both she and Eric's blood. The bruise on her face was more prominent than she had thought. She stared for a moment until she heard the door to the room open. She walked out of the room to see a woman in pink scrubs wheeling Eric in in a wheelchair. He looked proud of himself as he looked at Calleigh with a smile plastered on his face. She smiled back at him, his pain medication clearly stronger than hers. He was okay. Seeing him felt like relief had been washed over her entire body like a wave. She watched from a corner as the nurse helped him into the bed and adjusted his IV tube so that he could be comfortable. Finally the nurse left the room with a sweet smile.

Eric looked at Calleigh and smiled at her as he turned his head to the side. He patted the bed next to time and scooted himself over so that there was space for her. She watched as he winced a little as he moved. "Eric, you need to just sit still!" Calleigh lectured as she walked towards him.

"And you need to come here" He said as he patted the open space again. Calleigh lowered the arm bar on the bed and sat next to him. Eric reached up a hand and lifted her chin with his thumb. "I'm sorry that this all happened" he said quietly. Calleigh nodded. Everyone was sorry, SHE was sorry. Nobody deserved to live through the nonsense, but she couldn't help but feel responsible.

"If I wasn't the target-" Calleigh started before Eric cut her off quickly, knowing exactly where she was going with the conversation. He gently took hold of her wrist and pulled her down to him. She laid her head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat. Eric placed his hand on top of her head, gently enough to not hurt her.

"You hear that? That means I'm okay. It means I'm more than okay Cal, I'm alive" He said quietly. Calleigh draped her free arm over his chest, placing a hand over his heart. He took his other hand and covered hers with it. "We are okay querida. Everyone is okay" He said in a hushed whisper as he placed a kiss on her forehead, begging her to calm down. He hated to see her like this. She was the strongest women he knew, and likely that he would ever know, other than his mother. But she always had trouble accepting that things weren't always on her.

"I just don't want to see anyone else get hurt" Calleigh said quietly. She felt her eyes growing heavy. Eric sighed. Anyone that worked in this line of work felt the same way. You never know what each shift was going to hand you. But that's the reason that they took this job, to prevent other people from getting hurt, And sometimes that meant themselves getting hurt in the process.

"Nobody ever does, but the important thing now, is that everyone is okay" Eric said reassuringly as he picked up her hand and placed a kiss on it before returning it to his chest.

"I don't want to do this anymore, Eric" Calleigh said so quietly that Eric almost didn't hear it. But he did, and he knew what she meant. Not her job, the worrying and pain that came with her job. That was what she didn't want. He understood perfectly, she didn't need to elaborate. He listened quietly for a little while. The quiet of the room was almost intoxicating. Everything had settled. He was okay, she was okay, and they were together. It was everything that he had been waiting on.

"I'll keep you safe, so long as I can" He whispered into her hair. He felt her nuzzle her head into his chest as her breathing steadied. He felt a small smile spread across his face as he let go of her hand to pull the blanket up over the two of them as he closed his eyes as well. He figured he would revel in the moment as long as it lasted. He knew just as well as anyone, that these moments never lasted long.

 **Another short one I know. I noticed there wasn't a lot of feedback on the last chapter so I figured I would add in a little EC that everyone has been craving as a little calm before the storm again. We still have to deal with Bryan! And the shooter? Let me know what you guys are thinking! R &R**


	18. Chapter 18

"You have mere seconds to explain to me that the hell all of that was before they come into question you Bryan" Vega hissed at him over the cold table in the interrogation room at CSI. Bryan just stared blankly at the wall. That was his last chance. Vega slammed her hands down on the table to bring him back to reality, she was fuming. She did not lose cases and she had a strong reputation to uphold. "Nothing? Are you kidding me?" She was practically yelling at this point. "They are going to find a way to link you to that shooter Bryan, what the hell were you thinking? How could you possibly think this was a good idea?" Vega attempted to question him in a hushed voice as she watched employees pass by the glass windows of the lab. Bryan looked up and looked her in the eye.

"It would mean less time, it would mean a better change with Rose" He mumbled off. Vega almost thought she was going to lose it. She couldn't even fathom the words that came out of his mouth. She felt the heat grow across her face. Never had she ever taken on a case as difficult and ridiculous as this one. Vega took a deep breath, she had to find a way to get through to him in their limited time. She pulled out the chair across from him and sat at the table.

"Bryan, you understand that she had a restraining order against you right.." Vega started.

"Yeah but she didn't really mean it" Bryan interrupted.

"And she attacked you after what you did to her and her family" Vega continued as she gestured to his torso that he had been holding in pain. Bryan shook his head,

"No no she was just confused she didn't mean to.." Bryan tried to explain as he pushed his chair away from the table and stood, Vega pushed harder.

"She doesn't want to be with you Bryan, you can't throw your life away for someone who doesn't want you" She said firmly. She didn't know how much she would regret those simple words until after they had already left her mouth. In one swift moment Bryan turned around and took his cuffed hands to the bottom of the table, flipping it in a fit of anger. Unfortunately for Bryan this was at the exact time that Natalia had entered the hallway to come interrogate him. She rushed in after one of the armed officers and helped Vega get to her feet. The table had definitely hurt her in more than one as she watched Vega cover her mouth. The two women stood against a back wall and watched as the officer took Bryan down to the floor. Natalia placed a gentle arm on Vega's elbow and led her out of the room to one of their waiting rooms surrounded in glass windows that overlooked the Everglades in the far distance. Vega took a seat and Natalia offered her a tissue for her mouth as she sat down next to her while she sent out a page.

"Must be a delight working these cases huh?" Natalia said as she smiled at a random coworker who passed by. Vega pressed the tissue to her mouth and sighed as she leaned back in the chair. "I don't mean anything by it, just trying to cheer you up a little Vega" Natalia responded to the silent reply. She turned to look at Natalia for a moment.

"You can call me Elisia you know, and I don't pick these cases because I have a thing against cops, I pick them because it's what I'm best at" She said in a normal tone. Natalia felt a little taken back by her response. Natalia realised that she was right. If they had met under better circumstances they wouldn't be so cold to each other all the time. "My first case was this type, it got me a lot of air time and it got me a lot of attention. I started getting higher paying cases and all of them tended to be involved with officers. I couldn't stop, it was paying the bills, and I was known for it after a while" Vega explained. Natalia felt for her, it made sense. A reputation in the crime industry was a hard one to change once it had been created.

"It's never too late to make a change you know? Join the good side?" Natalia said with a smile as one of the lab techs came down the hallway holding a cold compress for Natalia. She smiled at the younger man as he handed it to her and turn back down the hall without another word. She handed it to Elisia who applied it to her face.

"I wouldn't even know where to start…" Elisia said with a sigh as she looked out the window. Natalia knew exactly where to start, explaining all of this to the team would take some time but she was certain that the two women were going to get along just fine.

"Well, you could start by dropping Bryan's case, and testifying against him with us. The more people we have, the stronger the charges. It will be all over the news, a positive light" Natalia explained as she turned in her chair to face Vega. She kept her eyes set on the horizon before she replied.

"I'll have to call some people first" she said quietly as she stood from the chair and placed the cold compress down on the chair. Natalia watched as she turned her composure back into the strong and cold woman they had all known her to be. She straightened her hair and flattened her clothes down with her hands and took a deep breath as she stood tall. "I'll find you here?" She said as she looked at Natalia. She smiled and nodded.

"You will find me here" Natalia agreed as she held out her hand. Resistant, Vega reached out and shook it in agreement. This would be the icing on the cake for putting Bryan away for life…

…..

Ryan stood squatted in front of Eric's Hummer at the courthouse as he pulled the bloodied bulled out of the side of the door with tweezers. He looked at the freed bullet for a moment before dropping it into a plastic container and placing it in his kit. The same bullet that passed through both Eric and Calleigh. He watched as news crews finally began to drive away as the sun continued to beat down on the area that they were working. Ryan wiped his forehead on his forearm as he stood up and looked around. Night crew stifled yawns as they dropped numbered markers and took photos as they went. Ryan put the laser into the bullet hole in the door and turned it on. Following the light he saw Walter, crouched where the shooter was with his thumbs up. "That's a match" He yelled down to Ryan.

It was almost tedious processing this scene. Ryan wanted to do more. Both his friends were in the hospital and he was stuck processing a scene that they already had the answers to. What they were really focused on finding was physical evidence that Bryan and the shooter were tied to each other, and everyone there knew that that was going to be hard. Ryan huffed for a moment and began his walk up the hill to where Walter had stationed himself. It looked like a blood bath. Ryan had absolutely no sympathy for the man but it was never an easy task to shoot another man. He thought back to the morning.

He and Natalia rode together to the hearing. Horatio had scheduled all of them off so they could be there to support their teammate. He and Natalia had still never really discussed that one night so long ago it felt now. They just went back to normal. Working together as they did with the occasional eye contact that lasted just a little bit too long, but always ended in a smile from one or the other. The car ride today was all the same, but more serious due to the reason they were driving together in the first place. He remembered walking up the steps with her and her looking at him and them catching each other's eyes again for just too long. The tiny twitch at the corner of her mouth about to form a smile which he reflected back. It was cut short at the sound of their boss as he yelled "GET DOWN" at such a volume that everyone reacted without thinking. And somehow in that moment Ryan had taken a strong step in front of Natalia and pulled his weapon to where Horatio was aiming. A sniper. As the first round was fired Ryan retaliated in the only way he knew how, to fire back. One round, two rounds. And he stopped. He saw the man's body move in such violent, jerking motions, when the bullets hit him that he knew he was not fighting back.

Ryan blinked a few times, bringing himself back to the present. "We got our gunshot residue on the cement landing right here" Walter started as he pointed to the number card that stood above the black dust. Ryan nodded.

"He was lying down, feet towards this tree" Ryan explained as he pointed to the tree behind them. Walter made note of it all in his notebook that he carried.

"So a sniper? That's pretty serious ammunition to be bringing to a courthouse. You think he was aiming for Cal-" Walter began to rattle off before Ryan raised a hand to stop him mid sentence.

"I think that we have two team members in the hospital right now, and that we need to get done here as quickly as possible so we can put both of them away" Ryan cut in harshly. He and Walter were good friends, but after the events of today, this week, hell, this month? He just wanted to be with the people he loved and worked with. Walter put his hands up in surrender. "Sorry Walter, I just want to be doing more" Ryan added after realizing he'd been a little sharp. Walter shrugged.

"It happens, I would probably be a little on edge too. I can finish things up here if you want to head back to CSI or wherever. There really isn't that much more to process anyways" Walter said kindly. Ryan looked up at him with raised eyebrows. "Seriously Wolfe, most the evidence is on that sniper" Walter said with a smile. Ryan nodded and pointed a gloved hand at him as he descended back down the grassy side of the courthouse. Walter chuckled under his breath and went back to his photographs.

…

Ryan quickly got a ride from one of the officers on duty to the hospital and thanked him with a pat on the shoulder as he got out. The sight of Miami General never was a pleasant one. Anytime he had walked through these doors it was for a teammate, one that had been badly injured in most cases. Most of the time this was the place where tears were shed and hearts were pulled at. It never got easier. He exhaled deeply and walked towards the entrance, offering a tight smile to the receptionist. She gave a wide toothed smile back to him. "Here to visit the other two officers?" She asked in a cheery voice before he could even ask where their perp had gone. He almost forgot that they were here.

"Actually, yeah that would be great" Ryan said with a smile. Maybe it wasn't so horrible after all. Just a quick check in before he actually got on to what he was here for, his evidence. The bubbly woman behind the desk typed a little bit and then wrote a room number down on a visitors pass and handed it to Ryan who gladly accepted it and strolled down the halls. A few more turns and he double checked the number on his pass matched the number on the door before knocking lightly and opening it. He felt a part of him warm up again at the sight of two of his friends faces with smiles worn across them. Calleigh sat next to Eric on the bed trying to readjust his IV for him, it looked like he had just gotten settled. Calleigh got up from her seat and walked towards him, offering one arm out for a hug, lifting her other arm offered a sort of pain in her side, but Ryan didn't question it. He pulled her in quickly for a moment, thankful that he had the opportunity in the first place. Working in this area always left a large risk for injury, and after a day like today it really made a person thankful that everyone made it out. "Glad you're okay Cal" Ryan said as he pulled out of the hug.

"Thanks to that guy" She said with a smile as she pointed to Eric who jokingly patted the space on his bed for Ryan. Ryan laughed at his gesture and leaned over the side of the bed to offer a hug to his close friend as well. Which Eric gladly excepted, patting his partner on the back with his one strong arm. The three stood there in silence for a little while smiling until they realized there was a reason that Ryan was here.

"Nat and Horatio?" Calleigh asked. Eric looked down at his sheets. He was curious as well but he knew that Calleigh shouldn't be getting into all of this right now. Ryan took a breath.

"Natalia followed Bryan back to CSI and Horatio kind of went MIA in all honesty, haven't really heard from him yet" Ryan said as he rubbed his knuckles. Calleigh looked out the window at the mention of Bryan's name.

"And the shooter?" Calleigh turned back with a new set of emotions rolling through her veins. Ryan looked down at her clenched fists, he had been here before with her.

"Calleigh come on" Eric tried to interject to get her to back down. Things were just so calm, for just a few hours in their isolated bubble. Calleigh shook her head as she held a finger to Eric. Ryan opened his mouth to speak a few times before he could actually get the words out.

"I was actually here to check his status and to gather what evidence I can-" Ryan explained as he watched Calleigh tie her hair back into the ponytail that it had been in previously.

"Great, so you won't mind if I tag along right? I was never admitted so it should be an issue" She said flatly as she walked past Ryan, re-attaching her badge to her waist as she did so. Eric leaned back in the bed and closed his eyes. He sat up to speak, but Ryan had already read his mind.

"I got her" he said as he left the room after Calleigh. She was a girl on fire, and she showed no signs of stopping…

 **I hope you guys are still enjoying the story! I made this one longer to make up for the short fluff chapter last time. I keep trying to sneak in some NR bits where I can because I remember a few of you being interested in it! I have a general idea of where the story is going but I want to hear from you guys! Are we liking it so far? Do you want more EC scenes, more action, more comedy? Let me know! I really want to work with you guys on this one since you all are the reason that I write in the first place! R &R!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Quick favor to ask before you dive into the next chapter! If you guys could please take a second to fill out the poll that I have on my main page in regards to what story I write next! I have always written the same type of story and I care about what you guys want to see! So please take a quick moment to go answer that poll for me!**

As Ryan left Eric's room and turned out of the door he saw Calleigh already standing at the main desk with her badge on the counter. Ryan finally caught up in time to hear the woman seated behind the desk say "I cannot disclose that information". Calleigh stepped back for a moment and placed her hands on her hips. To be quite honest it was a little hard to take her seriously in her scrub shirt with her badge as her only means of intimidation. Ryan finally stepped forward in hopes that he would have more luck.

"CSI Wolfe, I think there may be a misunderstanding, this man is apart of an investigation right now" Ryan explained with a smile as he placed his badge on the counter as well while Calleigh snatched hers off. He hoped this would clear up whatever confusion there seemed to be. The woman looked up again as he spoke, recognizing him from only a few moments earlier. She looked disappointed as she replied.

"I understand that, but like I mentioned before, I cannot disclose that information" She sighed.

"On what grounds?" Calleigh demanded as she placed both hands on the counter.

"Calleigh, Ryan, with me please" a voice called out from further down the hall. The two turned to see Horatio standing at the end holding an evidence bag that seemed to be filled. Calleigh looked at him for a moment, trying to understand it all before she began blindly walking towards him. She learned early on working with Horatio that you should never question his abilities. Ryan followed again to catch up.

"Excuse me! You need a warrant for that!" The woman behind the desk called after them as she stood up while simultaneously picking up the phone on the desk. Horatio turned back to her and smiled as he put his sunglasses back on.

"I don't think so" He said as he walked towards the exit with Calleigh and Ryan behind him. Calleigh stopped for a moment after the three had finally exited the hospital. She placed a hand on her side where the bullet had grazed her a few hours earlier. Horatio stopped and looked her over for a moment. "Are you sure you're okay to be -"Horatio stopped as Calleigh raised a finger to him with that crazy smile across her face.

"I am ALWAYS, okay to be working a case Horatio. Don't you underestimate me yet" She said with her southern drawl thick. Truth be told her minor injury did hurt a little more than she anticipated, but then again, how do you really anticipate the pain of a bullet wound skimming your body. Horatio smiled at the ground, he knew even if she was hurting that she wouldn't mention it. Unless of course something was actually very wrong.

"So, ugh, what's in the bag H?" Ryan asked with his hands on his hips, squinting at the sun above them. Horatio offered another smile.

"This, is what's going to tie everything together" Horatio answered simply as he looked down at the bag in his hands, containing the clothes and personal items of the shooter. Calleigh felt her smile wear off as she remembered all of the hurt that had come out of the past month.

"And put this to an end.." She said flattly. Ryan nodded in agreement with the previous statements.

"Meet you back at the lab" Horatio said as he began walking back to his own Hummer. Ryan looked to Calleigh and gestured to the vehicle he had arrived in himself. Calleigh began walking with him, shoulder to shoulder, over to his vehicle. She opened her door and reached up for the handle to pull herself in, wincing as the raise in her arm caused pain in her side.

"You okay?" Ryan asked as he froze in his seat, ready to help if need be. Calleigh pulled herself the rest of the way into her seat and pulled the door shut. She turned to pull her seatbelt on.

"I really wish people would stop asking me that!" She said with a small laugh. Ryan couldn't help the smile he felt spread across his face. He knew she was feeling fine, it was one thing for her to leave the hospital and tell everyone that she was fine, it was another for her to leave Eric in the hospital. Everyone knew that there was something between the two of them. And when one was hurt, the other was always near by. It was assumed that they had feelings for eachother, but nobody knew anything other than that they were very close.

Ryan started the car and drove off, following Horatio back to their headquarters to begin piecing everything together. Calleigh looked out the window as they drove back. It was perfectly sunny, not a cloud in the sky. People walking by to different shops and restaurants, going about daily life. She couldn't understand how their lives were so disordered right now while everyone else's was unaffected. It was so odd to see. They finally pulled up to CSI and began walking towards the entrance just as Vega was exiting with Natalia holding the door open for her. She looked pretty beat up and avoided eye contact as she left the building, meanwhile Natalia had a huge smile plastered across her face. Horatio nodded at Vega as a greeting as she walked by, he always was a properly polite man regardless of the circumstances. Calleigh took her time getting out of the car as she met up with Ryan again and began climbing the stairs. She too watched as Vega walked by and couldn't help but feel pride in the fact that she was leaving.

Horatio stopped by Natalia for a moment and said something that nobody else heard. Natalia nodded back at him and headed down the stairs to meet Calleigh and Ryan. She gave her blonde friend a loose hug and looked her over. "You need a change of clothes" Natalia said with a chuckle, Calleigh couldn't hold back the smile that crossed her face. Of all of the things that she could say or ask, it immediately went to her attire. She was almost thankful that she didn't get questioned about her well being again though. Natalia would likely wait until later to bother with that. She knew Calleigh hated being asked anyways.

"I'm going to catch up with H, I'll see you guys in there" Ryan said with a smile, giving a quick glance to Natalia who smiled back and nodded. Calleigh raise a hand to shoo him away as a joke and continued the walk up the stairs to the entrance, Ryan had already rushed in.

"How is Eric doing?" Natalia finally asked as the two entered the air conditioned building. Calleigh sighed as she put on a forced smile appearance to all of her other coworkers that had clearly heard about what happened earlier. She knew if she didn't, they would assume something was wrong. Calleigh kept up and looked at the floor for a moment as they continued their walk to the locker room.

"He's good! They were able to stop the bleeding and get him back to his room in under an hour, they said the bullet missed all major organs so he was lucky" Calleigh finished, remembering back to this morning when it all had happened. She squinted her eyes for a moment trying to clear the thoughts from her head. Natalia looked over and tried to ignore it, she again, knew Calleigh wouldn't want to talk about it.

"That is lucky, but I have to say Cal, you got the luckier end of it" Natalia said as she pushed and then held open the door to the locker room for her friend. Calleigh walked in and headed to her locker.

"And why exactly would that be, I wouldn't call the past month 'lucky'" Calleigh said as she opened her locker and pulled out a green button up. She turned her back to Natalia and removed the scrub shirt, exposing the gauze pad taped to her side. Natalia felt for her. Calleigh slipped her arm into the button up and began doing to buttons.

"Well, the fact that Eric covered you and the both of you came out with technical minor injuries is amazing in and of itself. We're all lucky, come to think of it" Natalia explained. Calleigh did up her last button and turned back around as she began to redo her ponytail.

"I don't know about all of that" Calleigh reiterated. Natalia came and sat on the bench.

"Listen, we all signed up for this, we all knew that there would be trouble and a lot of risks" Natalia started. Calleigh smiled and rolled her eyes. She had heard that a million times. It was something that they all knew and lived by. Natalia caught the eye roll and laughed while she continued. "We came into this job expecting the crime and the long hours and threat of injury, but we got more than that Calleigh. We got family and friends and people that would willingly take a bullet for us" She said with a genuine smile. Calleigh finished fixing her hair and stopped for a moment to look over at Natalia. She was right, but Calleigh also did not want to have a conversation about Eric right now and she knew that that is where this conversation was heading.

"You're right.." Calleigh finally sighed. Natalia smiled wider at her victory.

"So.. have you two.. Yah know…?" Natalia started before Calleigh cut her off as usual.

"What's the deal with Vega?" Calleigh jumped in. This time, Natalia was the one who didn't want to talk about it.

"I have to clarify some things with Horatio before I discuss any details, but she might be helping us.." Natalia explained quietly, while looking over her shoulder to make sure nobody overheard her speak. Calleigh furrowed her brow as she stood up, looking down at Natalia.

"We don't need help from a person like her" Calleigh began as she walked passed Natalia. She reached the door and turned around at Natalia who was now standing, a disappointed look across her face. "Matter of fact, we don't need help at all" Calleigh finished as she walked out of the locker room. She knew she was probably harsh and that Natalia wasn't the person that deserved her attitude but she was angry. Vega was a horrible person from what she knew. Eric was now in the hospital, someone had tried to personally kill her, and now the law enforcement's biggest legal enemy wanted to help them? It wasn't exactly what she was interested in hearing at the moment.

She stopped once she was halfway down the hall and turned around, her guilt getting the best of her. "I'm sorry" She started as she looked at Natalia who had just caught up to Calleigh again.

"She really could help our case" Natalia interrupted. Calleigh closed her eyes, having zero interest in what Natalia had to say.

"I am sure that you are convinced that this is a great idea, I am just in a different place. Lets just not talk about it for right now okay?" Calleigh offered. She knew Natalia was going to be hurt by her lack of belief that Calleigh had in what she had to say, but she also knew that Natalia would hopefully understand why. Natalia opened her mouth to speak but closed it again.

"Okay" She said simply. Not with defeat, but with the tone that the conversation was not over. Calleigh nodded and the two continued their walk to trace, where they assumed they would find the other two men. Natalia pushed open the door to trace revealing bloodied clothes laid out on the glowing table in front of them, the clothes completely drenched in blood. Natalia walked in as Calleigh stood in the doorway and looked at all of the evidence. Eric's shirt laid out as well, with Calleigh's next to it. It was unreal. Horatio stepped away from behind the table, grabbing a few jars off the table as he walked towards Calleigh, who was still frozen in place.

"Calleigh, a word please" Horatio said with a small smile. Calleigh nodded as she finally pulled her eyes away from the bloodied clothes and backed out of the doorway. Once the glass door shut behind them Horatio looked her over. She seemed lost in thoughts. He felt his forehead wrinkle with concern. Calleigh look at him and furrowed her brow again.

"Horatio" She started. He smiled again. He knew she had said she was okay already, he also knew not to push it.

"We will have more than enough hands in there, and I think it would be more convenient to have you analyze our bullets. The gun has already been placed in the armory, and these are for you" Horatio said as he held out the jars containing bullets. Thankfully they had been cleaned of blood already. Calleigh gladly took the jars, finally some normality.

"I'll let you know what I find" Calleigh said as she turned to walk towards her home away from home. Horatio reached out a hand and gently grabbed her arm. She turned around and looked at him.

"If you need anything.."He started.

"I will let you know" Calleigh finished with another smile. She knew Horatio was always concerned about her. It was one of the only people other than her father that she would allow it from. They had known and worked with each other for a long time now. Been through almost everything. "Multiple funerals, deaths, injuries, and personal family issues. She watched as he nodded back to her and watched carefully as she turned back around and headed down the hall. After a few steps she heard him open the door back to trace. It hurt her that everyone was so worried about her. She wanted them to be back to normal. The more they worried about her, the more she thought they might have something to worry about. The blonde gun expert finally reached her lab and felt relief rush over her. The while evidence container sat on her table, wrapped in red evidence tape. To Calleigh it looked like a wrapped gift under a christmas tree. Matching the bullets to this gun was going to make the case against at least Eric and her and the sniper. It could potentially help get Bryan if they were lucky. She cut open the box and carried the gun to the shooting range, placing it down on the counter while she put on her ear protectors and glasses. She loaded the gun and picked it up, aiming it at the target, firing it once. She placed the gun back down and removed her protective gear as she walked towards the gel block, holding the bullet. She extracted it and looked at it as it gleamed in the light.

"If you can't get back, get even" she said to herself quietly, knowing in her heart it was a match. Now just to prove it.

 **OKAY GUYS! I really hope you enjoyed this chapter! So much more to come for this story and I'm really excited for you guys to experience it with me :) Let me know as usual what you think, and what you think will happen next?! And as I mentioned before, please please please fill out my poll! It'll help a lot with my planning for the next story!**


	20. Chapter 20

Calleigh pulled the red tape against the opening of the box that held the snipers gun and made sure it was perfectly sealed. She ran her fingertips over it gently, her part was finally done. She took a deep breath and pulled her phone from her pocket, part of her expecting to see a text from Eric on the screen, part of her knowing she wouldn't. All the screen read was the time. Two hours had gone by. She turned back to her work bench and signed her name in delicate cursive at the bottom of her documents regarding her findings from the gun. All confirmed that the bullets had come from the gun, that of which belonged to the shooter. The blonde picked up the box and walked it to the front to have one of the assistance put it away in evidence holding. Calleigh gave an accomplished grin as she walked back to the break room. Coffee. Coffee would be great. She entered the small room only to be greeted by another obstacle.

"Is there something you need help with?" Calleigh asked as she walked by Vega without making any eye contact. Elisia fiddled with her hands and then smoothed them out on her perfectly fitted suit. Calleigh turned back around once she reached the coffee pot, realizing Vega hadn't replied. "Weren't you just leaving?" Calleigh nudged again. This time she came to notice that she had already managed to hide her injuries with makeup. Impressive. She watched as the caramel skin toned woman moved anxiously under pressure.. Really unlike what Calleigh had seen from her before.

"I was looking for Natalia actually.." Vega finally replied. Not aggressive or condescending in any way, regardless of the attitude that Calleigh was shooting her way. Odd. Calleigh looked her over a few times. Maybe she was being harsh. Seemed as though Vega had a rough day.

"She has her hands a little full right now.. I can let her know you came by" Calleigh said softly as she finally began to pour herself a cup of coffee. She paused, taking in the aroma and the steam that came off the cup.

"I just wanted to let her know about a few things regarding the case" Vega spoke now with more assertiveness. Something that caught Calleigh's attention. She turned around, leaned against the counter and looked Vega dead in the eye.

"What information could you possibly have for us, pertaining to the case, that we might need" Calleigh said in attempt to keep her composure. She was trying her best to be civil with this woman since she knew Natalia saw something in her. But for anyone to insinuate that they knew more about the case then they did, the people actually involved, that was insulting.

"The shooter, he's dead. Died in surgery. Probably 30 minutes ago. I had a friend that owed me a favor" Vega explained bluntly. She seemed a little hurt that the blonde in front of her was being so aggressive but could understand. Calleigh froze. They could've really used that testimony. "Let her know I stopped by please" Vega concluded. She pushed her hair over her shoulders and exited the room just as quickly as Calleigh had entered it. Calleigh stood for a moment trying to plot the next move, feeling like they were always taking one step forward and two steps back.

She looked up again when she heard the door open. Ryan entered with a wide smile on his face as he gestured for Calleigh to follow him. She raised an eyebrow and felt a match smile spread across her face, knowing that they had to of found something. After grabbing her coffee off the counter she walked after Ryan, catching a glimpse of Natalia and Horatio heading back down the halls with Vega in tow. Calleigh felt herself roll her eyes involuntarily. She quickly felt a nudge in the shoulder afterwards and looked up to Ryan who had caught it. She couldn't help but smile at the fact that she had been caught in such a childish action. Once they finally reached an empty interrogation room Ryan quickly shut the door. He looked to Calleigh who was back to being stressed. Ryan's smile fell off his face, assuming something was wrong.

"What is it?" He asked simply. Knowing it must be a blow to the case, or something regarding the team. Each were worrying to think about. Calleigh sighed.

"Vega just informed me that our shooter is dead" Calleigh huffed. To her surprise, Ryan only smiled at this news.

"Well, turns out that isn't such a bad thing after all" Ryan said as he laid a series of documents out on the table for Calleigh to feast her eyes on.

"Our shooter had a gun on him, which of course we went through. The last call was from one Elliot Yeager... Sound familiar?" Ryan said with a smirk.

"It can't be.." Calleigh mumbled as she rapidly scanned the files in front of her. "I thought he didn't have any siblings?" Calleigh asked as she picked one paper off the table to study it more closely.

"Cousin! And we currently have an address for him, just waiting for the judge to approve our search warrant and were good to go! This connection is it Calleigh! This alone could be enough to put him away! We just need-"

"Hard evidence" Calleigh finished his sentence with a smile. "This is great" she said quietly under her breath. As if she was scared that if she admitted an actual good thing happening aloud, it might shatter. Ryan place a hand on Calleigh's shoulder.

"We're gonna get him" he whispered by her ear. Calleigh smiled. It was genuine, finally. Real hope. Calleigh nodded as Ryan scooped all his files off the table. "I have to go run something else to trace but I will keep you updated!" He said reassuringly.

"I think I'm gonna stop by the hospital again and let Eric know!" Calleigh decided in the moment. Ryan smiled back at his friend, it was nice seeing her strong and more confident. More like her usual self.

"Keep me updated?" Ryan said as he pointed at Calleigh.

"Keep you updated!" Calleigh said back as she followed him out the door and they went their separate ways.

The second Calleigh got into her Hummer on her own she started to feel like herself again. Driving herself in her own car on her own time. And the news was good! Bryan was still in custody, they had their lead, everything was going to be fine. She drove towards the hospital with a sense of her independence back. For a the first time in the past two weeks she felt okay. She reached the hospital and dialed Horatio from her Hummer, which she parked in the light towards the front of the lot.

"Calleigh?" Horatio answered, a small trace of concern evident but Calleigh chose to ignore it.

"Horatio, I'm at the hospital to check on Eric. I won't be long!" She informed him. Horatio was quiet for a moment.

"We don't have eyes on Elliot yet.. We don't know if he's dangerous" Horatio began. He didn't want to undermine his agent, especially since he knew she was more than capable of handling herself. But she needed to be aware of the risks. Calleigh paused for a moment, she hadn't even thought of that.

"I'll be safe, and quick" Calleigh finally replied back. She couldn't let him on to the fact that she had forgotten.

"Let me know when you're headed back" Horatio said firmly. Calleigh nodded before realizing that Horatio couldn't see through the phone.

"I will!" She finally spoke up.

"And Calleigh, let Eric know I'll check in later" Horatio finished, almost like he didn't want to let her off the phone. Calleigh smiled to herself. She had a great team.

"I'll call you when I leave" Calleigh finished. She heard an audible hum from Horatio and she hung up. She pulled down the sun visor from the Hummer and looked at herself in the mirror. She needed to compose herself at least a little bit. She hadn't even taken a single moment to think about the fact that Elliot could be violent, he could be watching, following her. She felt goosebumps go up her arms and tried to shake them off. She shut the visor and got out of the Hummer, walking with a powerful stance towards the building. She was an officer with the crime labs of Miami. Some of the best in the state. She was a successful and even record setting ballistics expert. She was strong and smart and in charge of this situation. The sound of her heels against the pavement giving her more confidence. She was not scared.

Upon entering the building she was relieved to find that the woman that was there earlier was no longer there. They hadn't exactly left the best impression. Calleigh approached the counter but before she had even reached it, the man had slid a guest pass her way. Seems like her run in earlier must have made a notable impression. Calleigh offered a thankful smile and took the badge and continued her walk back to Eric's room but stopped quickly when she heard his voice talking to someone.

"I know I am..." She heard him said loud and clear. He sounded defeated. Not like what she was used to hearing from him.

"You could have been killed hijo" a woman exclaimed at him. Calleigh knew exactly who the woman was. Calleigh quietly entered the room and watched as the small woman stopped her scolding mid sentence and dropped her arms. "My sons keeper" she said with smile and open arms as she walked towards Calleigh. Calleigh offered one arm to hug back the small woman who of course, was Eric's mother. They had met a few times now, some occasions being in the hospital when she had come to see her injured son. Other times at the lab. Eric's mother pulled away, holding Calleigh by the shoulders and looking at her with her head cocked to the side.

"What is wrong?" She asked suddenly concerned. Calleigh offered her a gentle smile.

"Nothing is wrong, it's just been a long day for us Mrs. Delko" Calleigh lied. She sucked her teeth and looked Calleigh up and down.

"You know I tell you to call me Carmen! And I know that something is wrong here, but I will let it be" the small Cuban woman responded as she turned back to Eric who was now sitting with his head in his hands out of embarrassment for his mother's actions.

Calleigh chuckled a bit before finally going and taking the open seat next to Carmen after she had sat down on the couch by the window of the room.

Carmen looked back and forth between the two with a smirk on her face. Eric shot her a look, almost threatening whatever thoughts she was having. "Ma.." Eric started, urging her not to say anything.

"So when are you two.." Eric's mother started. Calleigh covered her mouth, attempting not to laugh out loud at how blunt she was.

"Ma!" Eric said again. This time as more of a demand. Carmen smiled widely and leaned back in her seat, slightly towards Calleigh.

"You'll tell me, won't you?" Carmen asked quietly. Calleigh looked at Eric for a quick moment who looked furious. Calleigh looked back to Carmen who was waiting for an answer eagerly.

"As soon as I know myself, I promise to let you know" Calleigh said with a sarcastic tone. Part of her southern accent showing through. Carmen pat Calleigh's leg as she laughed and stood.

"I think I've had enough of the two of you today. You watch him for me, he takes more kindly to you I think" she finished as she pinched Eric's cheek. He smiled back at her as he held her hand for a second.

"Love you too" Eric replied sarcastically as his mother leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. She turned around again and blew a kiss to Calleigh, she waved back with a smile glued to her face. Carmen had such a bright energy to her that could light up any room. A trait that she passed on to her son.

Finally when the two of them were alone Eric looked back over to Calleigh. "Sorry about that" he muttered as he ran a hand over his face. Calleigh shook her head and went back to her now fitting spot on the edge of Eric's bed and smiled at him.

"She always has had a way with words" Calleigh laughed as she placed a hand on his.

"You'll let her know huh?" Eric asked her with a devilish smirk, referencing what she had said to his mother earlier. Calleigh felt her cheeks heat up at the comment. Eric squeezed her hand to draw her attention.

"So, when are you going to let her know?" Eric said quietly. Calleigh quickly looked him in the eyes. She knew that they had something and that they were going to talk eventually but she didn't think that it was going to happen now.

"When we get this case closed" she said seriously. Eric nodded and let the smile fall from his face. It was true. This case did need to be closed before they could focus on anything else. She felt horrible when she saw his face drop. She wanted to figure things out as well but they both knew it wasn't realistic. Eric picked up her hand and kissed the top of it.

"So what brings you here then?" Eric finally asked as he turned his head to the side, trying to stretch out a kink. Calleigh sighed as she stood again.

"Long story short, the shooter died in surgery. But his cell phone had calls from Bryan's cousin" Calleigh started.

"That's enough for a warrant" Eric replied as pulled his legs over the side of the bed to sit more formally. Calleigh nodded, agreeing with him.

"Ryan is working on getting the warrant" Calleigh said, trying to sound more chipper. She had been so excited about it all before she took everything into account. Eric immediately saw through her fake emotions. He reached forward and grabbed hold of Calleigh's hands, pulling her closer to him. Eventually the blonde stood between his legs, too close for any of her lies to be even slight effective.

Eric looked at her until she finally looked him in the eyes. He offered her a small smile as he rubbed circles over the tops of her hands with his thumbs. "I promise, this will all be over soon" He said quietly. Calleigh nodded. He was right. They just needed today. Today to get the warrant, seize Elliott's phone, question him, and make an official arrest. Once they had that done they would have eliminated all major threats and could then proceed with a hearing… again. Calleigh felt her phone buzz against her hip. She closed her eyes for a moment, hating that she was always pulled away from these quiet and pleasant moments with Eric. She unlocked the phone and answered.

"Duquense?" She spoke firmly. She listened for a little while and nodded a few times as she took in the information that she was being relayed over the phone. "Will do" She spoke again as she hung up the phone. Eric raised an eyebrow at her as he waited for her to tell him what was discussed. Calleigh finally took her free hand out of Eric's and stepped back with a smile. "We got our warrant! I'm meeting them at Elliot's residence" She said as she recollected some of her items off of the bedside table in the room. Eric watched as she re-clipped her badge onto her belt, after she holstered her gun.

"Cal?" Eric called out before she finished. She looked up again to see what it was he needed. "Be careful" He finished, once he knew he had her attention. She smiled up at him and placed a kiss on his cheek.

"Always am" She said back as she left the room. The sounds of her clicking heels against the floor echoing through the room. Eric finally laid back in bed and placed a hand against his side. The pain beginning to come back again. He hit the nurses station button and waited. Not just for the nurse to bring more medication, but for Calleigh to return safely.

 **OKAY FRIENDS! Sorry again for the late post but I really hope you are enjoying it so far! Next chapter will be Eric's release from the hospital and the search of Elliot's place. Plus, what ever happened to Bryan? What is he up to? Leave your throughs and reviews in the review section :)**


	21. Chapter 21

**Okay friends, this chapter is honestly really short and I usually make them much longer, especially for this story, but I have been so busy again and I needed to give you guys something to work with SO here is a small snippet. A longer chapter to come I promise!**

Calleigh put on her sunglasses as she got out of the Hummer and walked up to the scene. Elliot was standing against another Hummer being questioned by Ryan as he handed over his cell phone. Calleigh approached and watched as officers searched the house. Ryan turned around and looked at her with a devilish grin.

"Just seized his cell phone, care to do the honors?" Ryan asked as he offered her Elliot's cell phone. Calleigh looked at the man who stood in front of her. He looked nervous, a little bit of resemblance to Bryan, but not much. Calleigh put on a glove and took the phone, immediately going to the "recently contacted" list. She scrolled for only a moment before she got to a call from Bryan, the day before the court house shooting. She felt anger wash over her body. There was a call made minutes after to a Franklin Gregory.

"Ryan, do me a favor, look up Franklin Gregory in the system" Calleigh said flatly. Ryan nodded to an officer who came and stood next to Elliot while Ryan opened the trunk and opened a laptop. He typed for a while and waited before turning back around to Calleigh.

"Got a match, only prior is for a speeding ticket in '08" Ryan read. Calleigh looked at Ryan for a moment, needing more. He turned back around as an image loaded. His face sunk into that of disgust. "But I can tell you, based off this photo and what I saw, this is our shooter" he practically spat. Calleigh was so close to losing it. No priors but was a trained sniper? Whoever this guy was, he was working under the table and off the streets. High pay type jobs, those for the wealthy.

She took a few steps forward, so close to Elliot she could count the beads of sweat collecting on his forehead. She watched as his eyes glanced to her badge. "You realize, I am the person you tried to hire to have killed?" Calleigh spoke in such a calm and steady voice that Ryan almost had to think about whether he should be worried. He stood behind her and watched carefully. Elliot stared at the ground, sweating more and more. "You realize that makes you an accomplice to attempted murder? That's not even taking into account the fact that two officers were injured" Calleigh went on. Elliot finally looked up at her. "You're going to jail Elliot, I really hope it was worth it". She finished as she walked away, back towards the Hummer. She climbed in quickly and pressed her hands against her cheeks, trying to cool her face. Confronting the man who took part in trying to take her life, a man she had never even knew existed, was hard. She took another breath and looked at her reflection in the rear view mirror. This was finally it. She just had to tough it out a little bit longer. She drove back to the lab, cell phone as evidence and handed it to Walter as she walked in. "I need everything you can get off this phone" she said firmly. Walter nodded and found a cord to connect the phone to one of many computers and got straight to work. Calleigh walked back out and headed to the break room. She needed to take some time to breathe.

Calleigh leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes for a moment. Just a little longer. She reached up and rubbed the scabbed area on her head where her stitches had finally faded. She couldn't sit any longer, it made her feel guilty. Deep in the back of her mind she knew that this wasn't her fault, but looking at it as a whole, none of this would have happened if she hadn't been targeted. She opened her phone and dialed her fathers phone number. She spoke to him for a little while, never once mentioning the case or anything that had happened for that matter. It was better he didn't know. She always feared that anything worrisome would send him to drink again, and he was doing so well this time. An hour went by without her even noticing and she said her goodbyes to daddy dearest. Hearing his voice always made her feel a little more whole. Even though he wasn't as close, he still made her feel safe. Calleigh sighed with a smile after listening to her father talking about his endeavors with his new job at a law firm and his 90 day clean token. It was a good thing in her life. She slid the phone into her pocket as she stood up from the couch. She rubbed her hands on her pants and walked back to the layout room where she was hoping she could assist in something to keep her mind busy.

She swiftly opened the door and watched as Natalia sealed a final bag and placed it in a box. She looked up and smiled at Calleigh. "Hey you, I thought you were out on the scene?" She said cheerfully as she signed her name on the log and sealed the lid over the box of all the evidence.

"I was, they didn't need as many hands as they thought so I just brought back our main piece of evidence!" Calleigh explained. She walked over to the table and picked up one of the boxes to help Natalia bring them to the front to be stored.

"Thank you" Natalia thanked her as she grabbed two more boxes and the two walked towards the door. "So what was our main piece?" Natalia asked. Calleigh smiled.

"Cell phone. Checked it in advance, there's a call to Bryan, and a call to Franklin Gregory. No priors that were relevant but Ryan identified him as the shooter. Just have to match the dental records to that of his and confirm it" Calleigh explained. Natalia smiled at her friend, it was nice seeing her empowered again.

"Nice call!" Natalia commented as they passed the boxes off to the officer behind the counter. Natalia signed off again on a form and turned back around with Calleigh.

"And the clothes?" Calleigh asked.

"All matched as they should" Natalia commented. Just as the words left her mouth they saw Walter peep his head out of the tech room. He waved them over and shut the door. Calleigh and Natalia looked to each other and quickly head to the room he was in. When they entered there were three phones on the table. Well, two whole phones, one that was quite destroyed.

"Whatcha got here Walter?" Calleigh asked as the two approached the table. Walter smiled widely.

"Well, a friend of mine brought in Bryan's cell phone earlier. The torn one belongs to Franklin, destroyed in the shoot out. And the third is Elliot's" Walter explained. Natalia raised an eyebrow when Walter mentioned a friend, no sooner did Horatio come into the room, nodding at Walter as he did.

"I could only pull a few strands of information off Franklins' phone. His recent calls, a few text messages, and this" Walter said as he put an audio track up and hit play.

 _"Frank, I need you to be at the court houses at 8, your date is with the short blonde. Meet with you after"_. The audio file cut off from there. The voice was defiantly Elliot's. Calleigh stood silently for a moment, as did everyone else in the room. It was chilling to hear.

"We matched to audio to Elliot's voice easily as well as his phone number. So we have Elliot's down at least for assisting a murder attempt. But that's not all. Bryan's phone had everything deleted off of it, but his call records show he called Elliot minutes before Elliot left the message for Franklin. All there's left to do now is get Elliot to confess that Bryan asked him to arrange it, and that he hired Franklin" Walter finished.

"And it appears we're just in time" Horatio said as he looked past his team, through the window. The rest turned around to follow his gaze, watching as Ryan walked Elliot back to a questioning room.

By the time Calleigh had turned back around Horatio had already caught her gaze. "If you want to, the interrogation is yours, if not, I am more than willing" he said quietly. Natalia and Walter pretended to find interest in something else in the room so it didn't seem as though they were waiting for her answer. They didn't want her to feel pressured at all. Calleigh gave a tight mouthed smile as she placed her hands on her hips.

"I think I'll take it, quicker this is done, the quicker it's all done" she said in a tone that almost sounded sad. They all knew better than to think that though. They had all been through enough, it wasn't fair to take judgement on another. Horatio nodded and watched as Calleigh left the room and headed down the hallway to meet with Ryan.

Elliot had just been seated in the chair, one hand cuffed to the table. Ryan exited the room and met with Calleigh.

"Do we have anything solid to hold him on? Because right now I'm just using conspiracy to commit murder and we both know that won't hold for long if he lawyers up" Ryan explained while simultaneously hoping that Calleigh had something for him.

"We have a voicemail from him requesting Franklins' assistance in my attempted -" Calleigh cleared her throat for a moment. "Yes, we have plenty to hold him on" she finished. Ryan frowned at his friend. He hurt for her, but she was doing well so far.

"Are you conducting the interrogation?" Ryan pried further. Calleigh responded with a nod instead of her usual confident response. If there was one thing Calleigh loved it was her guns, and a good interrogation. She was almost up to par with Horatio. But something was off about her response, as if she didn't want to do it, but she needed to. "Want some company?" Ryan added on.

Calleigh ran a hand through her blonde locks. "You know, I think I might just take you up on that" she replied. Ryan smiled back at her and opened the door to the interrogation room. He watched as Calleigh walked in first and looked back over his shoulder. Natalia, Horatio, and Walter all stood in the layout room, watching and waiting to see what would happen next. It was sensitive to try and pry information from a suspect without them wanting a lawyer. They needed this confession more than anything. This was it.


	22. Chapter 22

Calleigh entered the room with Ryan behind her and took a seat in front of Elliot. Ryan remained standing behind her with his arms folded across his chest, as if he was disappointed in the fact that he even had to be there in the first place. Elliot looked to Ryan for a moment, unable to look at Calleigh, and quickly darted his view away, intimidated by Ryan's stance. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair until Calleigh stood again and unlocked her phone and she walked around the table to where Elliot sat. Ryan watched, unsure of what Calleigh was doing.

"This is your cousins doing. He almost killed not only myself, but an innocent, defenseless child" she said softly and she showed Elliot photos of the flipped car from the scene. Elliot sat silently as he looked at the picture Calleigh had pulled up on her phone. "That little girl, Bryan knew who she was, he knew that she was important to someone he loved, and he risked her life without a seconds thought. Pointed a gun in her direction" Calleigh continued. Elliot rubbed a hand over his jaw. Calleigh looked at him and shrugged her shoulder as she swept to another picture on her phone. "This, is the incision they had to make in my head, to elevate pressure on my brain after the car your cousin stole was flipped in the chase to apprehend him" Calleigh explained as she showed him the wound that had previously existed on her head. That was finally enough to push Elliot over. She shook his head and scooted his chair back, away from the phone screen.

"Why are you showing me all of this?" Elliot asked as squinted his eyes shut. Calleigh walked back around the table and took her seat again. She folded he hands over the table in front of her.

"Because I want you to truly see the kind of person that your cousin is" Calleigh said as she opened the folder, laying out the documents on the table. Elliot gazed at them for a moment with a confused face.

"What is all of this?" He asked quietly as he continued to run his eyes over the papers.

"This is proof that you planned for Fanklin to be at the court house, Elliot" Calleigh said as she watched the though process run behind his eyes. "We have enough evidence against you to arrest you now, or you could help us and we could lessen your potential sentence" Calleigh continued. He voice was so calm and quiet that it came off as caring. As if she wanted to help him. Elliot froze when he heard Calleigh mention that they could help him.

"What do you need from me?" Elliot said under his breath as he looked down at the ground. Calleigh let out a silent breath that she didn't realize she had been holding. She was close.

"We need you to tell us what was said during the phone call with Bryan that day" She said firmly as sat up in her seat. Elliot shook his head as he rubbed his hands over his face. He looked up and looked Calleigh dead in the eye.

"I can't" he said. He felt guilt rack over his body as the words left his mouth. Calleigh swallowed hard at his response. By the look on his face, it was clear they weren't getting anywhere with him.

"Conspiracy to commit murder is a maximum sentence of 25 years, and that's just one of the charges currently against you" Ryan said from behind Calleigh. "And we will be charging at the highest available sentence, because this woman here? She's not only an officer, but one of the best ballistics specialists in the United States. We are offering you a lower sentence Elliot, and we aren't going to offer that again" Ryan said as he approached the table, putting hands on either side of it as he looked at Elliot. The three sat in dead silence for about a minute. Ryan collected the documents off the table and nodded his head towards the door at Calleigh. "Your choice" Ryan said calmly as he shrugged his shoulders. Calleigh stood and waited for Ryan to finish before the two headed to exit the interrogation room. The second Calleigh's fingers grasped the cold metal of the door handle Elliot spoke up.

"He said he needed help!" Elliot called out. Calleigh felt relief wash over her body like bath water. Calleigh let go of the door and turned back around. She looked at Elliot and raised an eye brow, encouraging him to continue. Elliot took a deep breath. "He said the only way to be free was if she was killed. He told me to take care of it. He's my family, the only family I have left I just didn't think I just... I'm sorry" he muttered out. Calleigh nodded and leaned into Ryan so she was close enough to speak without Elliot hearing.

"Could you finish up here now that we have our confession? I'm going to call Judge O'Brien and see if we can get Bryan's hearing moved up" Calleigh whispered in a hushed tone. Ryan nodded and smiled at Calleigh, they had finally closed this case. Calleigh just needed out of this room. Away from this man. Away from this case. She wasn't planning on calling the judge until later than day but Ryan didn't need to know that. She quickly exited the room and headed down the back hallway, avoiding all the rest of her team mates that she knew were residing down the opposing hall. She knew they were waiting to hear what happened, and she wanted to tell them. She wanted to celebrate that this nightmare was over but first she needed to come to terms with everything that she'd been avoiding thinking about. She'd been numb to everything that was happening because she needed to be. But things were catching up now and she needed to take at least a few minutes to breathe. She turned down another hallways so quickly that she ran into the person turning her way. She stepped back and was about to apologize before she realized who the person was. Eric stood in front of her, holding onto her arms to steady her. He smiled at her but his smile quickly faded when he saw the lost look on Calleigh's face. He was expecting a shocked face when she saw him. He got discharged early and came to get caught up on everything.

"Hey are you-" Eric began to ask before Calleigh leaned her forehead into his chest. She just needed a second. A single second to just calm down. "Okay" he said quietly as he placed a hand on the back of her head for a moment. He knew this was a lot for her. He over heard conversation after conversation about her all over the lab the past month. Everyone trying to figure out how she was keeping it together so well, as if it hadn't phased her at all. Mean while he knew it was tearing her up inside. He would give her anything she needed, and he wanted to. But he also knew that she was only ever going to accept comfort when she needed it and now was one of those times. She only let herself bask in his embrace for a moment before pulling away. She took a dramatic deep breath and smiled at him.

"Sorry about that! We got our confession! I was actually just going to call and let you know!" She said in a chipper voice! "But you're here! I guess you got on someone's good side?" Calleigh said as she continued her walk down the hallway towards the break room. Now that Eric was here she couldn't avoid everyone. Eric wanted nothing more than for her to open up but he knew that in her eyes that wouldn't happen until this case was officially closed. That was just how she was. She something started she would not take any time for anything else until that thing was ended. Even if the time was for herself. No exceptions. He knew he wasn't going to get her to talk about her two second break down she just had, so he too pushed it away.

"There was one nurse in particular.." He joked. Calleigh shot him a quick look that sent an instant smile across his face. She was a sucker for his fibs. She quickly turned back around before he could see her smile. "So when is our court date?" Eric continued. Call sighed entered the break room and slumped down into one of the chairs.

"I was going to see if we could get it moved up actually. New evidence and just because it needs to be closed out" Calleigh explained.

"Well I was actually going to go try and catch up on the case work with H, I can ask him to put in a good word to get that moving?" He said encouragingly. It was no secret that Horatio had a certain pull in the community, people respected his word and trusted his decisions. Calleigh smiled, this man just got out of the hospital, literally, and was back at work trying to help her.

"That would be great actually. Let him know I'll be down to talk to him in a bit? I'm sure Ryan will have filled everyone in by then I just need a few minutes.." She said as she watched Eric walk back out towards the door. Eric pointed at her and winked. It melted her heart. "No need to explain, I'll page you when I get some feedback!" He said reassuringly. She smiled back to him, watching as he walked away. She had completely forgotten that they still needed to "talk". She had forgotten about a lot of things. Some on purpose, some by accident. There was too much. Calleigh leaned her head against the back of the chair and closed her eyes, rubbing her temples.

Not even a minute into trying to unwind her mind did she hear the door open again. Calleigh opened her eyes but kept her fingers on her temples. None other than Vega herself entered the room. Calleigh watched as she cautiously made her way over to where Calleigh was sitting. Calleigh sat up and watched as she approached, finally sitting in the chair opposite to her.

"I know you're not a fan of me, and I don't blame you" Vega said. Calleigh just stared at her, still wondering why she was here. Vega sighed. "I understand why you feel the way you do, I probably would too if I were in your shoes" she continued. Calleigh almost felt bad, maybe this was the person that Natalia was interested in, she seemed more sincere and not as horrible as they all seemed to think she was. Calleigh crossed her legs and sat forward, giving her more attention. Vega pulled a flash drive and a business card out of her pocket.

"I dropped Bryan as a case after he attacked me for the second time" Elisia began to explain as she slid the flash drive across the coffee table in Calleigh's direction. A second time? This was her first time hearing about this. "This is a video recorded testimony against him on my behalf. I have a flight to catch so I can't stay to testify myself. This business card is no longer valid as I'm changing my career speciality thanks to some of your co workers, but my number is still the same if you need anything in regards to the case" Vega continued as she handed Calleigh her card. Calleigh sat silently in shock. "I really hope this helps put him away" she finished as she headed towards the door to exit. Vega paused and turned around to face Calleigh again. "I know that you all are genuinely great detectives, I'm really sorry that things played out the way they did. I hope this helps" she said as she held her own hands in front of herself. Calleigh offered a small smile to her.

"Thank you" Calleigh finally said. "We will be in touch" she finished. Elisia smiled back and walked out of the break room, turning around again once she was in the hallway, still holding the door open.

"His hearing got moved up to Friday too" She said quietly. Calleigh felt a look of shock and confusion spread across her face. "I had one last favor to use up before everything in my career changes, figured I would use it on something important" Elisia explained as the door slowly closed. Calleigh felt a bigger smile spread across her face. She couldn't believe that all of this was finally coming full circle. She looked down at the flash drive and card on her hand and sighed. It made sense that Natalia saw something in her.

Calleigh waved to her as she floated down the hallway to the elevators. She slouched back down into the seat and smiled at the ceiling. Bryan was going away. This nightmare was finally going to be over, all she had to do was make it until Friday. Just two more days…

 **Let me know what you guys thought in the reviews :) I look forward to reading what you guys feel about it!**


End file.
